Damaydamay na!

“I will not go alone.” – Former speaker Martin Romualdez.

It’s ominous. Romualdez sends a chilling message down the spine of those who wish to make him the sacrificial lamb on the budget and infrastructure corruption issues.

Read the context of his speech: “If this is a political play to push me out and close the story, tarnishing my name and my reputation, then I’m telling everyone now, I will not go quietly and I will not go alone. I will not be the fall guy for other people’s corruption. “

There is a common expression for this: damaydamay na!

In psychological warfare, there are times you have to keep your enemies at bay. Cambridge Dictionary defines “keep someone at bay” as “to prevent someone from moving closer.”

Enemies, in the context of Romualdez’s speech, do not necessarily refer to his long-time critics, such as the die-hards of the Dutertes. He must be referring to his close allies, his “friends” in politics who turned their backs on him to save their necks.

Romualdez knows he is among the most hated persons in the country today. If it’s true that he once harbored the ambition of becoming president, he must have abandoned it when the flood-control scandal exploded in the face of Lower House he once led.

Romualdez projected himself as the most generous speaker in the history of the Lower House. Prior to the 2025 election, people were given a flood of ayuda (financial assistance), as if public funds could be given thoughtlessly. Of course, this fostered dependency among the people. After the election, the assistance simply disappeared. He eventually resigned as speaker in an apparent attempt to take away the too much heat generated by the flood-control controversy.

Romualdez went silent. He figured out that no amount of explanation would satisfy the public. But contrary to his expectations, the issue did not die. It has persisted, and his name became synonymous with corruption. Worse, he was singled out, with some even implying that the president knew nothing about the corruption scheme. ENOUGH! He must have said this to himself. So, he issued a statement which was not a claim that he’s innocent but a warning: “I will not go alone.” Meaning: If I should burn in hell, I will not burn in hell alone! No, you cannot pull me down any further anymore.

Read this again: “I will not be the fall guy for other people’s corruption.”

“If someone is fall guy, they are blamed for something which they did not do or which is not their fault,” according to Collins Dictionary.

Of course, nobody believes that Romualdez is as white as snow. He was the speaker of the House, after all.

But we are yet to go into the more exciting part. He made a not-too-subtle attack against the executive department; yes, the department President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. has full control of.

A total war --brought about by the blame game-- between the executive and the legislative seems to be in the offing.

“If corruption were to occur, in a magnitude made known to us over the past months, then it is clear that the real corruption does not happen at the level of the legislative approval alone,” Romualdez said.

 “That is why command responsibility is far more logically relevant in the executive branch,” he added. Yes, you read it right: executive branch.

And BBM is still silent.