New Speaker Bojie Dy vows cooperation in ICI inquiry
Isabela Rep. Faustino “Bojie” Dy III was elected Speaker on Wednesday, taking over the House leadership from Rep. Martin Romualdez of Leyte, who had resigned amid mounting pressure from a thorough graft investigation being pushed by his own cousin, President Marcos, into anomalous flood control projects where a major contractor had implicated several lawmakers.
In his first speech as Speaker, Dy immediately acknowledged the dark cloud hovering over the chamber’s credibility, saying he would “not defend the guilty and not shield the corrupt.”
The 64-year-old political veteran, a member of Mr. Marcos’ Partido Federal ng Pilipinas (PFP) and whose family’s hold on local power dates back to the era of the President’s father, acknowledged the people’s frustrations with the House and asked that he be given the opportunity to clean up its ranks.
“I am asking for a chance to earn back your trust,” he said. “I am one with the President’s goal to clean up the government so we can rise again.”
“Under my leadership, this House will change. I will not defend the guilty, I will not shield the corrupt,” he added.
He also promised that “no rank, no ally, no office will be spared from accountability…Our duty is not to protect each other—our duty is to protect the Filipino people.”
253 in favor
Dy was elected on a 253-28-0 vote during Wednesday’s plenary session shortly after Romualdez announced his resignation, in a situation unprecedented in the chamber, still drawing heavy applause and a standing ovation from the plenary.
Romualdez had been accused of having a hand in questioned “insertions” in the 2025 budget, alongside then House appropriations committee chair and Ako Bicol Rep. Elizaldy Co.
The former Speaker was also one of the lawmakers linked by businessman Pacifico “Curlee” Discaya II to an alleged kickback scheme that siphoned off funds intended for flood control projects.
Discaya, whose companies had bagged huge project contracts, implicated Romuadez and Co in a Senate hearing. He later clarified in a House inquiry that he had no direct transactions with both lawmakers, saying they were merely often name-dropped by politicians who approached them for cuts in the project budget.
Romualdez had denied both allegations, but acknowledged in his resignation speech on Wednesday that he needed to step down to allow the Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI), the body created by the President, to do its job unhampered should the probe extend to him and Co.
Be cooperative
Dy said his first marching order as Speaker is for the House to fully cooperate with the ICI.
He also stressed that he would not allow any House member to use the chamber to protect his or her own interests.
“If anyone is to be held accountable for these resounding allegations, we will ensure that these hearings are fair. If there are names mentioned in the hearings, there are proper forums for them to explain,” he said.
“We will be transparent and accountable in our activities. If it is necessary to interact with those who express their opinions, I will personally come forward to talk,” he added. “This is the only way for the whole truth to come out and only here can the doubts of our countrymen begin to be dispelled.”
Dy, a scion of long-dominant political clan in Isabela, has been in government in various capacities for more than four decades.
His political career began at the barangay level as a youth leader, before serving as vice mayor and then mayor of Cauayan City in 1992.
Dy took up economics at the University of Santo Tomas. He is married to Mary Ann Arcega, with whom he has four children: Francis Faustino, Faustino IV, Faustino V and Justin Faustino.
Initial plan: ‘Acting Speaker’
Dy’s name was floated as Romualdez’s possible successor days earlier. The initial scenario was to make him just “acting Speaker’’ since Romualdez’s first option was only to take a leave of absence, the Inquirer learned.
On Wednesday morning, however, National Unity Party leader and Antipolo Rep. Ronaldo Puno confirmed that Romualdez had decided to resign.
Dy voted for the Leyte congressman as Speaker at the opening of the 20th Congress in July and later became one of the chamber’s 11 deputy speakers.
A source told the Inquirer that Dy’s affiliation with President Marcos’ PFP—a bloc of just 27 members in the 315-strong chamber—was a major factor in his selection as next Speaker.
As of Tuesday, however, Dy and other potential contenders for the speakership still lacked the numbers to take over from Romualdez, who belongs to the dominant Lakas-CMD bloc.
This was the reason why Romualdez eventually asked colleagues to back Dy, Puno said.
Dy, of Isabela’s sixth district, became the first lawmaker from northern Luzon to lead the House. For decades, his family and the Albanos have dominated politics in Isabela, part of the so-called Solid North or bailiwick region of the Marcoses of neighboring Ilocos Norte.
Longtime powerhouse
The Dys have been a local powerhouse since the administration of the President’s father, the late Ferdinand Sr. The new Speaker’s father, Faustino Dy Sr., was the longest serving governor of the province (1971-1986 and 1988-1992).
There are currently two other Dys in the House: The new Speaker’s nephews Ian Paul (representing Isabela’s third district) and Faustino Michael Carlos III (fifth district).
In the May elections this year, the new Speaker took over the House seat previously occupied by his son Inno, who is now the mayor of Echague, Isabela.
Under the 20th Congress, Dy has so far authored 25 bills. They mostly concerned Isabela but also included measures of regional and national scope, like the proposal to create the Sierra Madre Conservation and Development Authority; strengthen the National Research Council of the Philippines; and include more life skills courses in the basic education program.
Though considered a veteran politician, Dy has kept a relatively low profile in the 20th Congress until he was thrust into the speakership.
Before returning to the House this year, he served as governor of Isabela from 2010 to 2019 and as vice governor from 2019 to 2025.
In 2022, he and 12 other provincial officials faced plunder charges over an allegedly anomalous road project worth P1.38 billion.
The complainant, former Angadanan Mayor Manuel Siquian, alleged that no public bidding was conducted for the project and that it resulted in “unwarranted benefits” for the Dys since the road led to a beach property they owned. —WITH A REPORT FROM VILLAMOR VISAYA JR.
