section_path: Background
section_name: Background
paragraph_text: Background
  
  In the 2022 election, parties aligned with the UniTeam alliance and eventual president Bongbong Marcos secured a supermajority of seats in the House of Representatives of the Philippines. Political observers noted that among those elected to the chamber, most came from "wealthy and influential families", which was associated with the vote-buying incidents observed in the election.
  
  Upon the opening of the 19th Congress of the Philippines, Representative Martin Romualdez of Leyte's 1st district, a cousin of President Marcos, was elected as the speaker of the House of Representatives unopposed. Media outlets have noted that a number of positions in the house leadership were assigned to representatives related to the Marcos family, including senior deputy majority leader Sandro Marcos, the son of President Marcos, and chair of the accounts committee Yedda Marie Romualdez, the wife of Speaker Romualdez.
  
  The 19th Congress saw considerable political realignment, with House representatives abandoning the former ruling party PDP–Laban for Lakas–CMD of Romualdez and Partido Federal ng Pilipinas of Marcos.