FACT CHECK: Roque not replacing Romualdez as new House speaker

Claim: Former presidential spokesperson Harry Roque was appointed the new House Speaker, replacing Martin Romualdez.

Rating: FALSE

Why we fact-checked this: The false video bearing the claim was uploaded on March 31 by the YouTube channel “Banat Kapanig TV,” which has 119,000 subscribers. As of writing, the video has 10,542 views, 196 likes, and 33 comments.

The video’s thumbnail originally showed side-by-side images of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., former president Rodrigo Duterte, Romualdez, and Roque. Roque’s picture was altered to show him seemingly holding up a document. The thumbnail included the text “Karma is real! Roque ipinalit sa pwesto. Romualdez tinanggal na” (Roque now in the position. Romualdez was expelled.)

The video’s title, which has since been revised, previously read: “Kapapasok lang: Sawakas pinàlítàn sa pwesto. Romualdez sibàk na. PBBM ginulat ang Senado. Harry Roque” (Just in. Finally replaced from his position. Romualdez was expelled. President Bongbong Marcos shocked the Senate. Harry Roque.)

The channel that uploaded the video has a history of replacing thumbnails and titles for its misleading videos.

The facts: Romualdez remains House Speaker of the 19th Congress, as seen on the official website of the House of Representatives. There are also no official announcements regarding Romualdez’s expulsion from the official Facebook page of the House of Representatives.

Roque cannot be appointed House speaker because he is not an elected member of Congress. According to Article VI, Section 16 of the 1987 Constitution, only a duly elected member of the House of Representatives can be elected speaker.

Marcos, as Philippine president, also does not have the authority to appoint or replace the House speaker, contrary to the claim in the video’s title.

No evidence: The misleading video did not provide evidence to support its claim. Instead, the video featured unrelated commentary from a vlogger on the Department of Agrarian Reform’s recent decision to enforce the cancellation of the 2018 Certificate of Land Ownership Award given by the Duterte administration to the Ati tribe members of Boracay.

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Roque was only mentioned in the original video uploaded on the channel “Badong Aratiles Vlog,” when the narrator discussed Roque’s statement that there was an agreement between the Duterte administration and China to keep the “status quo” in the West Philippine Sea (WPS).

The former presidential spokesperson’s remarks come amid heightened tensions in the WPS. Last March, China Coast Guard vessels again used water cannons against a Philippine resupply boat en route to a military outpost in Ayungin Shoal.

Online disinformation against Romualdez: Romualdez has been the subject of false claims about his supposed expulsion from office and replacement by another public official since January, amid developments on the issue of amending the 1987 Constitution. In February, Rappler debunked a similar claim that ex-president Duterte was supposedly appointed House speaker.

According to the latest Pulse Asia survey conducted from March 6 to 10, Romualdez’s approval rating dropped eight percentage points, from 39% in December 2023 to 31% in March. His trust rating is at 31%, down nine percentage points from his previous 40% trust rating in December 2023.– Larry Chavez/Rappler.com

Larry Chavez is a graduate of Rappler’s fact-checking mentorship program. This fact check was reviewed by a member of Rappler’s research team and a senior editor. Learn more about Rappler’s fact-checking mentorship program here.

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