MANILA, Philippines – The daily newspaper of Harvard University named Philippine House Speaker Martin Romualdez as a major donor for the institution’s first-ever Filipino language course.

The Harvard Crimson, citing a reliable source who wanted anonymity, said Romualdez committed $2 million (P113.4 million) to fund the Filipino language instructor’s post.

“Funding for the preceptor position wasn’t guaranteed to last longer than three years — until Romualdez’s pledge,” the report published Thursday, September 14, read.

The online article affirms a news report published by the US-based FilAm magazine in August, which said Romualdez donated $1 million for the program.

The magazine cited a “well-placed Filipino Harvard alumnus” who was supposedly present during a dinner in April at the house of Geraldine Acuña-Sunshine, a Filipino-American entrepreneur and member of the Harvard board of overseers.

Romualdez’s office has yet to get back to Rappler’s request for confirmation or comment.

Rappler has also emailed the executive director of the Harvard University Asia Center. We will update this story once we have received their reply.

A spokesperson for Harvard and a director for the Asia Center, however, already declined to disclose to The Harvard Crimson the identity of the donor.

“Harvard does not discuss the terms or specifics of individual gifts, and in line with Harvard’s gift policy, donors have no role in the establishment of the courses that are offered,” Harvard University senior director for communications Jonathan Palumbo told the student paper.

Must Read

Cavite instructor to teach Harvard University’s 1st-ever Filipino language course

Inquirer’s US editor reportedly steps down after Romualdez story takedown

In August, Philippine news outlet Inquirer.net carried the exclusive report by The FilAm on its website, but subsequently took it down, as pointed out by the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism.

“Rene Ciria Cruz, the former U.S. editor of Inquirer.net, wrote in an email to The Crimson that he resigned from his position as a result of the article being taken down,” The Harvard Crimson story read.

The Inquirer Group of Companies – of which Inquirer.net is under – is led by Sandy Prieto Romualdez, whose husband Philip is the brother of Speaker Martin.

What we know officially

Based on official releases by Romualdez’s office, the House speaker went to the US in April to deliver a policy speech at Harvard’s John F. Kennedy School of Government.

There, he expressed support for the Filipino language course that will be introduced in the university, but made no mention of a supposed donation.

“We express our gratitude to Harvard University for recognizing the need to teach the Filipino language to those interested to learn about our rich and diverse culture. Once again, our country is in the spotlight of the world stage, and I have never been so proud to be a Filipino,” Romualdez said at the time.

Romualdez has been the country’s fourth highest leader for more than a year now.

The veteran congressman – a cousin of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. – leads a supermajority alliance in the House of Representatives, whose independence has been questioned by the government’s staunchest critics.

In his first year as House speaker, Romualdez and his chamber faced numerous controversies, including the creation of a sovereign wealth fund, the push for charter change, the postponement of an election which was later declared unconstitutional, and an alleged ouster plot against him.

His net worth was P475 million as of 2016, the last time his financial statements were publicly available.

Rappler, since May, has asked Romualdez’s office a copy of his latest Statement of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth (SALN), but our request has yet to be granted. – Rappler.com