Support for Speaker Dy climbs to 219, still short of 253 initial voters

The number of House members who expressed support to Speaker Faustino “Bojie” Dy III climbed to 219 after the 39-strong Visayan bloc echoed 180 of their colleagues in backing Dy.

The Visayan bloc, which is led Deputy Speaker Ferjenel Biron (4th District, Iloilo); Senior Deputy Majority Leader Lorenz Defensor (3rd District, Iloilo); and Representatives. Alfredo “Albee” Benitez (Lone District, Bacolod City) and Vincent Franco “Duke” Frasco (5th District, Cebu), issued the statement after Metro Manila and Mindanao expressed support for Dy last week. 

Prior to that, lawmakers from the Northern Luzon Alliance and Party-List Coalition Foundation Inc. also expressed unequivocal support for Dy.

“Speaker Dy has no involvement, no stake, and no entanglement in the controversies that have shaken public confidence. His distance from these scandals is not merely a personal advantage—it is an institutional necessity. The House cannot hope to regain credibility if the person leading its reforms is compromised by the very wrongdoing we aim to confront,” the Visayan bloc said.

Likewise, the lawmakers said the Speaker “has shown the moral clarity required to lead reforms in an institution that must admit that mistakes were made, that systems were abused, and that the House must change if it hopes to serve the Filipino people with honor.”

“Speaker Dy has opened the doors to accountability. He has encouraged transparency. He has signaled that no one is above the process,” they said.

“These are not easy decisions. But they are the right ones—and the Visayan Bloc believes the House must stay on this path,” they added.

Other signatories include Representatives Francisco Miraflores (2nd District, Aklan); Maria Vanessa Aumentado (2nd District, Bohol); Jesus “Jesse” Marquez (1st District, Aklan); JC Rahman Nava (Lone District, Guimaras); Anna Victoria Tuazon (3rd District, Leyte); Julienne “Jam” Baronda (Lone District, Iloilo City); Javier Miguel "Javi" Benitez (3rd District, Negros Occidental); Jane Castro (2nd District, Capiz); Patricia Calderon (7th District, Cebu); Kathryn Gorriceta (2nd District, Iloilo); Rachel Del Mar (1st District, Cebu City); Zaldy Villa (Lone District, Siquijor); and Emmanuel Iway (1st District, Negros Oriental), among others.

“With full responsibility to our constituents and fidelity to our oath, we declare our support for Speaker Faustino ‘Bojie’ G. Dy III and the reforms he has set in motion. We believe that under his leadership, the House can restore its moral compass, reclaim its credibility, and return to its duty of serving the Filipino people with integrity,” they said.

The running total of 219 House members supportive of Dy, however, is still short of the 253 House members who elected him as Speaker last September 17 after former Speaker and Leyte Representative Martin Romualdez resigned from his post as top House leader. 

Romualdez resigned as Speaker after he was linked to the flood control mess. The former Speaker, however, has maintained he did nothing wrong and that his conscience is clear.  

There were previous reports of efforts to replace Dy as the Speaker and install Deputy Speaker Ronaldo Puno of Antipolo City as his successor.

Puno is a stalwart of the National Unity Party, the second largest political party in the House with at least 43 members. —KG, GMA Integrated News