‘Warehouse raids, CIF realignment boost Speaker’s ratings’

MANILA, Philippines — The series of raids conducted on warehouses containing hoarded and smuggled rice and the House of Representatives’ decision to realign confidential and intelligence funds (CIF) away from civilian agencies were among the factors that improved the ratings of Speaker Martin Romualdez, according to an OCTA Research group fellow.

“The CIF was still hot when we conducted the survey. The decision of the party leaders of Congress to remove the CIF from civilian agencies, because this became too controversial, was a plus factor for the Speaker,” University of the Philippines professor Ranjit Rye said in a radio interview.

Rye was referring to the Third Quarter 2023 survey of OCTA conducted from Sept. 30 to Oct. 4 this year, where Romualdez’s trust ratings garnered a 22-point increase, which peaked at 60 percent from 38 percent in the same period last year.

Romualdez’s trust ratings were also up by six points from 54 percent to 60 percent on a quarterly basis from July to October 2023.

According to OCTA, the controversial CIF of the Office of the Vice President and Department of Education may have something to do with it.

The Speaker’s pursuit of onion hoarders and the inspection of rice warehouses in Bulacan in recent months could also be the reason why Romualdez’s performance ratings increased significantly, Rye added.

Reps. Julienne Baronda of Iloilo City and Ziaur-Rahman Alonto Adiong of Lanao del Sur lauded Romualdez for the double-digit increase in his trust and popularity ratings.

“Leading a 310-member legislature is no mean feat, but Speaker Romualdez has shown his mettle as we have passed the 2024 General Appropriations Bill on time as well as approved all 20 LEDAC priority bills three months ahead of schedule,” Deputy Majority Leader Baronda said.