Yedda Romualdez is set to join her husband and son in the 20th Congress through automatic party-list succession after a series of resignations cleared her path to become Tingog’s third nominee.
The Commission on Elections (Comelec) certified her succession on July 16, creating a Romualdez family trio in the House of Representatives. Martin Romualdez, the presumed next House speaker, represents Leyte’s first district, while their 24-year-old son, Andrew Julian, is Tingog’s first nominee.
Tingog won three seats in the May elections, finishing third in the party-list race.
Comelec Chairperson George Garcia informed House Secretary General Reginald Velasco in a letter on July 16 that the poll body was greenlighting the proclamation of Yedda as Tingog’s third representative in the House.
“As a Certificate of Proclamation has already been issued to TINGOG Party-list on May 19, 2025, kindly consider this letter as the equivalent certification which may be used to effect the necessary steps in relation to the appropriate representation of said Party-List in the House of Representatives,” Garcia said in the letter to Velasco.
Yedda’s return to the House follows the resignation of the third nominee Marie Josephine Diana K. Calatrava, who stepped down for “personal circumstances,” according to the resolution of the Comelec law department, which reviewed the party-list nominee changes and recommended its adoption.
Two other Tingog nominees had earlier resigned after winning party leadership positions. Initially, the party-list’s fourth and fifth nominees, Alexis V. Yu and Paul S. Muncada, stepped down on June 18 following their election as party leaders under Tingog’s bylaws, clearing the path for Yedda’s succession.
Yedda ran as Tingog’s sixth nominee during the May midterm elections. She was initially fielded as the first nominee before her son Andrew replaced her as the party’s top pick in February.
After all these resignations, the Comelec law department recommended on July 15 that Tingog’s nominee list be updated with Yedda considered as “Nominee No. 3,” citing Republic Act No. 7941’s automatic succession provision for party-list vacancies. The COMELEC en banc adopted these recommendations on July 16.
Yedda and her husband Martin Romualdez previously served in the 19th Congress as a powerful duo that virtually controlled all key levers of House operations. Martin, the president’s cousin, wielded a supermajority as House speaker while Yedda chaired the accounts committee that managed the House’s internal budget.
Source: Yedda Romualdez to join husband & son in 20th Congress after party-list resignations | Philstar.com
Eyyyyy ka muna diyan