Macalintal slams Comelec decision allowing Yedda Romualdez to return as party-list rep

Elections lawyer Atty. Romulo Macalintal raised alarm over the Commission on Elections’ (Comelec) decision to allow Yedda Romualdez to assume office as the third nominee of the Tingog Party-list in the 20th Congress, calling the move a “mockery of the electoral process.”

Romualdez—wife of House Speaker Martin Romualdez—previously served as Leyte district representative from 2016 to 2019 and then as party-list representative under Tingog from 2019 to 2025, completing three consecutive terms in Congress.

Macalintal questioned Comelec’s interpretation that Romualdez only served two terms as a party-list lawmaker, and that her previous term as a district representative should not count toward the constitutional three-term limit.

He cited Article VI, Section 7 of the 1987 Constitution, which provides that a member of the House of Representatives may serve only three consecutive terms—regardless of whether those terms are as a district or party-list representative.

“This decision should be questioned before the Supreme Court or the House of Representatives Electoral Tribunal,” Macalintal said.

He warned that Comelec Chairman George Garcia’s ruling may set a “bad precedent,” effectively allowing lawmakers to circumvent term limits by switching between party-list and district representation.

“What will happen now is that someone could serve three terms as a district representative, then simply shift to a party-list to serve another three terms,” Macalintal pointed out.

He also urged Comelec to investigate the recent resignation of Tingog’s third, fourth, and fifth nominees—Marie Josephine Diana Calatrava, Alexis Yu, and Paul Muncada—whom the poll body allowed to step down in a 16 July resolution.

Yu and Muncada resigned after being appointed to internal roles within the Tingog Party-list, while Calatrava, who is the sister of Yedda Romualdez and wife of former Presidential Assistant for the Visayas Terence Calatrava, cited “personal reasons.”

Tingog won three congressional seats in the May 2025 elections. Its current representatives are Andrew Julian Romualdez—the son of Martin and Yedda Romualdez—and Rep. Jude Acidre.

Macalintal criticized the Comelec for accepting the resignations without probing their legitimacy. He said the resignations may have been orchestrated to pave the way for Romualdez’s return.

“They just accepted the resignations without any investigation. They should have looked into the reasons behind them—whether there was political pressure,” he said.

He reminded that the Comelec expanded the nominee list from five to ten in recent elections precisely to prevent manipulation through mass resignations.

“In the case of Tingog’s resignations, the poll body should have done its job and conducted a proper investigation,” Macalintal said.