Gloria Arroyo among 291 solons backing Romualdez's reelection as Speaker — Garin

Former President and ex-House Speaker Gloria Arroyo, a Lakas-CMD stalwart, is one of the 291 House members who expressed support for the reelection of Lakas president and Leyte Rep. Martin Romualdez as Speaker of the 20th Congress, Iloilo Representative Janette Garin said Thursday. 

“So far, the latest number for Congressman Romualdez is 291...these are the ones who signed off their support for his reelection as Speaker. I saw the list and saw the name of former President Arroyo, as well as Congressman Claude Bautista [of Davao de Oro] who is a good friend and served as one of the campaign managers of the Vice President Sara Duterte,” Garin said.

GMA News Online has reached out to the Office of Arroyo for comment and will publish it as soon as it becomes available.

Garin, Arroyo and Romualdez all belong to the Lakas-CMD party. Romualdez sits as party president while Arroyo is chairman emeritus.

Iloilo Rep. Janette Garin says 291 lawmakers are backing reeelection of Leyte Rep. Martin Romualdez as Speaker

The list includes former President and ex-Speaker Gloria Arroyo of Pampanga, as well as neophytes Brian Llamanzares of FPJ party-list & Ryan Recto of Batangas @gmanews pic.twitter.com/If99WcYiRw

— Llanesca T. Panti (@llanescajourno) July 24, 2025

Garin also said that the son of Bacolod City Lone District Representative Albee Benitez, Negros Occidental Rep. Javier Benitez, is also one of the 291 legislators supportive of reeelection of Romualdez as Speaker.

The elder Benitez has been mentioned in previous reports as a contender for the Speakership, but the statements did not directly come from the elder Benitez himself.

“This [291] is such a huge number given that we are only around 300 [members] in the House of Representatives. That number is kind of overwhelming at this point. This is already my sixth term in Congress and by the way things are running, it is very clear that Congressman Romualdez will be the Speaker of the 20th Congress,” Garin added.

Back in 2018, Arroyo and her allies pulled off a stunning coup on the day of then-President Rodrigo Duterte’s third SONA, unseating then-Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez of Davao del Norte in the morning before Duterte delivered his SONA in the afternoon.

A day after Arroyo's ascension to Speakership then, she met with a number of lawmakers and then-Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte, who was reportedly not on good terms with Alvarez at the time.

But for Garin, Romualdez being able to prove his mettle by being inclusive and consultative nailed his looming reelection as Speaker.

“He is a consensus builder and he hears us out. That is a rare trait, and he is able to maintain the House’s integrity and professionalism. These are things that actually contributed to many congressmen rooting for his continuity in terms of leadership in the House,” Garin, who served as one of the Deputy Majority Leaders during Romualdez’s leadership, said.

“There are those who expressed interest for the position [of the Speaker], they come out in media reports, but those did not come straight from the horse’s mouth. You are in a tough spot if you cannot be upfront of your intentions. If you do not have the guts to come out in the open and say you want to contest for the position, how can other people have the guts to fight for you? The Speakership is not a bargaining chip. You have to show your capability, performance,” Garin added. — RSJ, GMA Integrated News