CEBU, Philippines – House Speaker Martin Romualdez, who ran unopposed, returned as Leyte’s 1st District Representative.
Romualdez received 173, 846 votes in the 1st District of Leyte which consists of Tacloban City, and the towns of Alangalang, Babatngon, Palo, San Miguel, Santa Fe, Tanauan and Tolosa. This is based on partial, unofficial results from the Commission on Elections (Comelec) with 80.15% precincts reporting as of 12:01 am, May 13.
Romualdez is the president of the Marcos administration-allied Lakas–Christian Muslim Democrats (Lakas CMD) which has fielded many candidates all over the country.
He is also the cousin of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and Senator Imee Marcos.
Initially, Romualdez was supposed to face independent candidates Danilo Chua, Minerva Gaut, and Romilda Bacale after they filed their certificates of candidacy in October 2024 for the congressional seat.
In January, Comelec Chairman Erwin Garcia confirmed that Bacale was proven to be an unregistered voter in Tacloban — she was disqualified. Chua also withdrew his candidacy, while Comelec declared Gaut a nuisance candidate.
This is Romualdez’s third and last term as representative of Leyte’s 1st District since winning in 2019. – Rappler.com