Deputy Speaker Duke Frasco on Monday defended his decision to withhold his support for Speaker Martin Romualdez’s continued leadership in the upcoming 20th Congress, citing a growing frustration among lawmakers and local leaders from the Visayas and Mindanao over what he described as the House leadership’s failure to unify and respond to regional concerns.

“I simply believe the House of Representatives can, and must, do better. We should be a partner in building the country up, not a platform for further discord,” Frasco said. “At this critical time in our nation, I believe we need leadership in the House that unites rather than divides.”

Frasco explained that his refusal to sign the manifesto in support of Romualdez stemmed from the “shared frustrations” and “deep disappointment” felt by his fellow lawmakers and local officials in the regions he represents, hinting that Romualdez’s leadership had contributed to lingering divisions within Congress.

He warned that retaining the Speaker in the next Congress would only deepen these rifts, undermining President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s call for national unity and political stability.

But the National Unity Party (NUP), the party that expelled Frasco last week, dismissed his explanation as self-serving and politically motivated.

“Frasco has slighted the official NUP position of support for Congressman Martin as a shrewd political ploy to arm-twist the Speaker into keeping him as Deputy Speaker in the incoming Congress,” said NUP president and Camarines Sur Rep. LRay Villafuerte.