Speaker Ferdinand Martin G. Romualdez administers the oath of membership to Representative-elect Leandro Legarda Leviste of the 1st District of Batangas (3rd from left), formally welcoming him to Lakas-CMD, the largest political party in Congress and the country. Standing as witnesses were Majority Leader Manuel Jose 鈥淢annix鈥� Dalipe (left) and Agusan del Norte 1st District Representative Jose 鈥淛oboy鈥澨鼳quino听(right).
MANILA, Philippines 鈥� The strength of Lakas-Christian Muslim Democrats (Lakas-CMD) in the House of Representatives received a boost after five more incumbent and incoming lawmakers joined the party, boosting its membership to 108.
In a statement on Wednesday, the Office of House Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez confirmed that the following members joined the party:
- Batangas 1st District Representative-elect Leandro Legarda Leviste (formerly independent)
- Baguio City Representative-elect Mauricio Domogan (formerly independent)
- Davao del Sur鈥檚 John Tracy Cagas (formerly with Nacionalista Party)
- Cotabato 1st District Representative-elect Edwin Crusado (formerly with Pwersa ng Masang Pilipino)
- Marinduque Representative-elect Reynaldo Salvacion (formerly Independent)
Leviste, Domogan, and Cagas took their oath before Romualdez, who is president of Lakas-CMD, on Wednesday.听 Crusado and Salvacion, meanwhile, took their oath on Tuesday.
Romualdez thanked the incumbent and incoming lawmakers for sharing the party鈥檚 ideals, including the belief in President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.鈥檚 administration.
鈥淵our decision means that you share, as we all in Lakas-CMD do, the aspiration of President Ferdinand 鈥楤ongbong鈥� Marcos Jr. for our people to have a better life and to sustain our country鈥檚 economic growth,鈥� he said.
Leviste meanwhile said that he is joining Lakas-CMD just like what her mother did, Senator Loren Legarda, when she ran for the Senate in 1998.听 Legarda was the vice president for Lakas-CMD during that time.
Leviste won the race for the seat of Batangas鈥� first congressional district during the May 2025 midterm elections, with 268,764 votes or 75 percent of the votes tallied.
鈥淗aving run as an independent, I am joining Lakas, which was my mother鈥檚 first party when she was first elected senator in 1998,鈥� Leviste said. 鈥淚 look forward to working with other members of Lakas to pass legislation that will benefit the people of the first district of Batangas.鈥�
听As of now, House leaders say that Romualdez has the supermajority in the House, with Lakas-CMD鈥檚 108 members comprising one-third of House members for the 20th Congress.
Last May 25, Lakas-CMD member and Deputy Speaker David听Suarez听announced that there is a wide coalition backing Romualdez鈥� leadership, effectively creating a supermajority.
Aside from Lakas-CMD,听Suarez听said the supermajority bloc consists of the Nacionalista Party, National Unity Party, Nationalist People鈥檚 Coalition, Partido Federal ng Pilipinas, the Party-list Coalition Foundation Inc, and some members of the Liberal Party.
READ: Majority of LP members now part of House鈥檚 supermajority bloc听
This new supermajority, Suarez said, shows that President Marcos鈥� call for unity still stands. /jpv