Manila, Sept. 17 -- Leyte 1st District Rep. Ferdinand Martin Romualdez on Wednesday resigned as House Speaker, saying he was doing so to allow full accountability and transparency in the wake of controversies hounding infrastructure projects.

"Today, with a full heart and a clear conscience, I tender my resignation as Speaker of the House of Representatives. I do this so that the Independent Commission on Infrastructure may pursue its mandate freely and fully - without doubt, without interference, and without undue influence," Romualdez said in his speech before the plenary.

He said when he first assumed the Speakership, he made a solemn commitment: that the House of Representatives would be the people's House.

"Yet leadership also dem...