House Speaker Martin Romualdez Reportedly Gifted $1 Million to Fund Harvard's First Filipino Course

(SPOT.ph) For the first time in its 400-year history, the prestigious Harvard University in the U.S. is finally offering a Filipino language course led by a Filipina language preceptor. Behind the "generous" endowment for this inaugural course is reportedly another Filipino—President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos' cousin and current House Speaker Martin Romualdez.

The nephew of Imelda Marcos and the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos Sr. gave the "generous gift" of $1 million (P56.8 million) to fund Harvard's Filipino language course, U.S. online magazine The FilAm reported, citing sources connected to Harvard University itself. Harvard Crimson, the university's student paper, also named Romualdez as the source of the endowment amounting to $2 million. 

"Speaker Ferdinand Martin G. Romualdez says the introduction of a Tagalog course in Harvard University’s academic offerings is a source of great national pride. Speaker Romualdez made the statement before Harvard University’s students gathering of Filipino community in Massachusetts," the House of Representatives said on April 20, with photos of Romualdez at Harvard University.

Also read: This Caviteña Is Harvard University's First Filipino Language Instructor

What we know so far about Harvard and Martin Romualdez

On August 31, Inquirer.net published the article "'Imelda Marcos nephew' funds Harvard's new Tagalog language course'" from The FilAm. Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism (PCIJ) reported that the two publications have a content partnership.

The report said Romualdez attended a dinner hosted by Harvard alumna Geraldine Acuña-Sunshine, who also happens to be a member of Harvard's Board of Overseers—the University's second-highest governing body. It was when Romualdez made the offer to fund the Filipino language course, with Harvard University Asia Center's James Robson thanked Romualdez during the dinner, according to guests as reported by The FilAm. 

A few hours after it was published, the Inquirer.net took it down "reportedly on orders from top management," PCIJ said. It's worth noting that the CEO of Inquirer Group of Companies, Sandy Prieto Romualdez, is Martin Romualdez' sister-in-law. Inquirer.net's U.S. editor, Rene Ciria Cruz, told The Harvard Crimson that he resigned after the article was taken down.

Romualdez had a net worth of P475.619 million in 2015, making him the eighth wealthiest representative. His father, former ambassador Benjamin Romualdez, was once named by Forbes Magazine as the 30th richest man in the Philippines with P3.3 billion net worth. "He wasn't a crony. He was the brother-in-law of President Marcos," the congressman said.

The focus shouldn't be on the source of the funding, said Harvard Undergraduate Philippine Forum's co-president Jose Marco Antonio as quoted by The Harvard Crimson.

“I’m just really, really grateful for the fact that the Filipino language is being taught at Harvard... And it’s just really frustrating that this is sort of detracting from the fact that it’s such a major achievement."

“There is obviously something wrong if it is true that Harvard accepts donations from families of dictators who are corrupt, whether for teaching Filipino or any other course,” former Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG) commissioner Ruben Carranza told The FilAm.

What Martin Romualdez has to say about the Harvard "gift"

In a statement released on Sunday, Romualdez said he would "respect" Harvard's gift policy.

"Harvard has already communicated that they 'do not discuss the terms or specifics of individual gifts,' and I stand by that principle," he said.

Instead, he said he would rather turn everyone's attention to the "significant" milestone of Harvard offering a Filipino languae course.

"I firmly believe in promoting and preserving our Filipino identity, and this step by Harvard is a testament to that effort. Let's embrace this moment of pride and unity for our country and our language."

Also read: Are Tagalog and Filipino the Same? Fil-Am Actor Nico Santos Got Twitter Curious