House Speaker Martin Romualdez downplayed on Monday former presidential spokesperson Harry Roque’s pronouncement that Vice President Sara Duterte would be the new leader of the opposition bloc critical to the administration.

“That's Mr. Harry Roque's statement. But I guess we'll have to just hear it from the VP if and when the time comes for her to make statements or to make any policy or statements on policies of the national government,” Romualdez told reporters in a press conference.

Last week, Duterte made headlines following her “irrevocable” decision to leave the Marcos Cabinet as Secretary of the Department of Education and vice chair of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict, which she headed for nearly two years.

The VP did not disclose the reason behind her resignation but asserted that it was "not born out of weakness."

Romualdez, the campaign manager of Duterte in the 2022 polls, however, stated that he truly respects the VP’s personal decision.

"Obviously, we miss the closer interactions that we had during the campaign. But nonetheless, there's politics and there's personal [issues] and we only wish the Vice President nothing but the best...the best of luck in all the endeavors and her service to the Filipino people,” the House chief said.

Romualdez-led House and the Dutertes once engaged in a heated tussle that initially stemmed from the formers' decision to realign the multimillion confidential funds requested by the Office of the Vice President and DepEd in the 2024 budget.

The relocation of confidential funds earned the ire of former president Rodrigo Duterte, who posits that it was politically motivated and has something to do with 2028 polls, in which Sara and Romualdez are perceived as front-runners.

The senior Duterte even publicly called Congress—of which his son, Davao Rep. Paolo Duterte, is a member—the "most rotten" institution in the country and has a "hidden pork barrel."

The former president has likewise slammed the House's relentless efforts for Charter change, which he suspects will only perpetuate his successor Marcos in power.