• GILBERT P. BAYORAN
The Visayan Bloc, led by its convenor Bacolod City Lone District Rep. Alfredo Abelardo Benitez, has issued a manifesto declaring full support to the leadership of Speaker Faustino Dy III.
The declaration has added to the earlier support of 30 Metro Manila district representatives; 67 members of the Mindanao bloc led by Senior Deputy Speaker Ferdinand Hernandez; the 39-member Northern Luzon Alliance led by House Majority Leader Ferdinand Alexander Marcos III with Deputy Speakers Kristine Singson-Meehan, and Francisco Paolo Ortega V; and the 44 members of the Party-list Coalition Foundation Inc.
In their manifesto, the Visayan lawmakers said the House is at a moment that demands moral recovery, humility, and the courage to confront uncomfortable truths.
They stressed that Dy’s leadership — marked by clean hands, independence from ongoing controversies, and an unwavering stance on accountability — provides the stability and integrity needed to rebuild public trust shaken by flood-control corruption scandals.
“Speaker Dy has no involvement, no stake, and no entanglement in the controversies that have shaken public confidence,” they said, adding that his distance from scandals is not merely a personal advantage, but 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,” they said.
The Visayas lawmakers said Dy 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.”
“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,” they said.
The manifesto was signed by 39 Visayas Bloc members. | GB
