Ferdinand Martin Gomez Romualdez is a Filipino businessman, lawyer and politician serving as the Speaker of the House of Representatives since July 25, 2022. He is also serving as the representative for the 1st district of Leyte since 2019 and previously from 2007 to 2016 and as the president of the Philippine Constitution Association. He formerly served as the House Majority Leader from 2019 to 2022, and unsuccessfully ran for senator in the 2016 elections. He is a first cousin of President Bongbong Marcos. Since May 17, 2023, he has been widely considered to be the country's de facto "Prime Minister" after the ouster of Senior Deputy Speaker Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, becoming the main catalyst to the 2024 Philippine political crisis.
Official portrait, 2022
Romualdez (right) during President Bongbong Marcos's first State of the Nation Address
Romualdez (left) with his wife Yedda Marie Kittilstvedt-Romualdez in 2011
Speaker of the House of Representatives of the Philippines
The speaker of the House of Representatives of the Philippines, more popularly known as the House speaker, is the presiding officer and the highest-ranking official of the lower house of Congress, the House of Representatives, as well as the fourth-highest official of the government of the Philippines.
Speaker of the House of Representatives of the Philippines
Image: Pedro Alejandro Paterno
Image: Don Sergio Osmeña Sr
Image: Don Sergio Osmeña Sr