16/07/2025
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FRASCO TO CHALLENGE TAMBA? | Speculations that Deputy Speaker Duke Frasco eyeing Speakership swirl after rubbing elbows in Osaka, Japan.
Nobody will admit that the choice of the House Speaker is heavily influenced by a nod from the President of the Republic, but that’s the reality.
Hence, it’s not surprising that media percolated with speculations that Cebu 5th District Rep. Duke Frasco is positioning himself as a contender for the top post in the House of Representatives in the 20th Congress.
Frasco was prominently seen beside or behind President Bongbong Marcos, Jr. during his weekend trip to witness the World Expo 2025 in Osaka, Japan along with his wife, Tourism Secretary Christina Garcia-Frasco.
In the world of Philippine politics, closeness to the incumbent President is always an advantage to a Congressman or woman interested in aspiring to become Speaker.
In fact, incumbent Speaker Martin Romualdez anchored his election in the 19th Congress on his being the first cousin, and obviously confidant, of President Marcos.
With the election debacle suffered by the administration, it is not far-fetched that President Marcos spent a lot of soul-searching to find out what caused it.
This theory is reinforced by the statement of Navotas Rep. Toby Tiangco, campaign manager of the Alyansa senatorial ticket, pinning the blame for this embarrassing performance on the filing of the impeachment case against Vice President Sara Duterte.
It was an indirect jibe at Romualdez, whose idea it was to pursue the impeachment and try to get rid of VP Sara before the 19th Congress ends.
Tiangco’s tirade triggered powerful tremors in the House. The leadership of Romualdez was under attack from an insider in the Marcos administration. All of a sudden, Romualdez was threatened.
This explains why the key lieutenants of Romualdez circulated a manifesto among House members affirming their support for him as Speaker.
The manifesto was intended for President Marcos!
It was this manifesto that revealed cracks in Romudez’s armor. It ceased to be stone-solid.
Frasco refused to sign.
That was a bold move for Frasco. His refusal to affirm his loyalty to Romualdez carried with it enormous risks to his political future in the House. In fact, the National Unity Party kicked him out as member.
Even his wife, who had submitted a courtesy resignation in the much-vaunted “Bold Reset 2.0”, could lose her job.
Going against Romualdez spelled trouble in the Marcos administration.
But Secretary Frasco was reappointed, which gave a clue that Romualdez was losing the patronage of his first cousin.
This suspicion grew stronger when Frasco was present in Osaka, Japan, and Romualdez was not.
We have seen in the past that Romualdez always accompanied President Marcos in almost all of his important travels here and abroad.
Hence, the absence of the Speaker in Osaka, Japan was an ominous sign that he has fallen from the graces of his first cousin.
Body language never fails to send accurate signals about which way the wind blows.
It is clear that Frasco is now a favored political ally of the President. A nod from President Marcos, Jr. is all he needs to claim the Speakership.
On July 23, 2025, when the 20th Congress convenes, we will know for sure if these speculations are well-founded.
