A group of retired AFP and PNP officers, UP Vanguards, and concerned Filipino taxpayers has issued a public open letter demanding the resignation of House Speaker Martin Romualdez, citing issues of fiscal mismanagement and alleged misuse of public funds.
The letter highlights the staggering national debt of ₱15.589 trillion as of August 2024, accusing Romualdez of exacerbating the crisis by endorsing a ₱6.352 trillion national budget for 2025, which exceeds the projected revenue of ₱4.64 trillion by ₱1.712 trillion.
The group also lambasted Romualdez for allegedly misallocating ₱26.7 billion from the Department of Social Welfare and Development’s Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situation (AICS) fund to finance a supposed “fake People’s Initiative” for constitutional amendments.
Criticism further pointed to Congress’s tarnished reputation under his leadership, labeled by BizNews Asia as the “biggest criminal syndicate” in the Philippines due to pervasive corruption, which the group claims consumes up to 20% of the national budget annually.
The open letter also flagged Romualdez’s reported multimillion-dollar donation to Harvard University and alleged personal investments, including a ₱1.25 billion stake in EEI Corporation.
The group accused Romualdez of treating taxpayers’ money as his own, calling for his immediate resignation. “Based on the foregoing observations, we want you out of the House of Representatives. NOW!” the letter concludes.
Romualdez has yet to respond to the mounting calls for his ouster as Speaker and Congressman of the First District of Leyte.