Isabela 6th District Rep. Faustino “Bojie” Dy III has officially taken the helm of the House of Representatives after winning 253 votes on Wednesday, capping a dramatic leadership shake-up triggered by the resignation of former Speaker Martin Romualdez.
Romualdez, who is President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s cousin, stepped down following mounting controversy over alleged irregularities in flood control projects. Antipolo Rep. Ronaldo Puno confirmed that Romualdez called lawmakers to a closed-door meeting on Tuesday, where he revealed his decision to resign and personally recommended Dy as his replacement. “Kahapon, pinatawag kami ng ating Speaker Martin Romualdez at sinabihan niya kami na balak na niyang magbitiw sa kanyang pwesto ngayong araw na ito,” Puno said in a DZMM interview. He added that the outgoing Speaker urged party leaders to rally behind Dy to ensure “epektibong pamamahala ng ating Kamara.”
Puno stressed that Romualdez’s decision was voluntary and had been considered “weeks ago,” but the intensifying scandal hastened the move. “Masyado na daw ang kontrobersya. Gusto niyang ipagtanggol ang reputasyon ng Mababang Kapulungan,” he explained. By Tuesday night, signs of the transition were evident, with Romualdez’s nameplate and other items cleared from his office.
The resignation followed President Marcos’ pronouncement that his cousin and congressional allies would “not be spared” from an independent probe into questionable infrastructure projects spanning the last decade. Navotas Rep. Toby Tiangco earlier alleged that Romualdez and former Appropriations chair Zaldy Co were involved in billions of pesos worth of budget insertions tied to incomplete or substandard projects.
