• GILBERT P. BAYORAN
Bacolod City Lone District Rep. Alfredo Abelardo Benitez and his son, Negros Occidental 3rd District Rep. Javier Miguel Benitez, as well as seven Negros Island Region (NIR) lawmakers voted for Isabela 6th District Rep. Faustino Dy III as the next House Speaker.
On Wednesday (Sept. 17), Leyte 1st District Rep. Ferdinand Martin Romualdez, first cousin of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., stepped down as the Speaker after he and several other lawmakers were linked to the flood control projects scandal involving billions of pesos.
Dy garnered 253 votes, with 28 abstentions, and zero negative votes.
Other Negros Island legislators who voted for Dy were Rep. Alfredo Marañon III (Negros Occ., 2nd district), Rep. Jeffrey Ferrer (Negros Occ., 4th district), Rep. Emilio Bernardino Yulo (Negros Occ., 5th district), Rep. Mercedes Alvarez (Negros Occ., 6th district), Abang Lingkod partylist Rep. Manuel Frederick Ko, Rep. Emmanuel Iway (Negros Or., 1st district), and Rep. Janice Degamo (Negros Or., 3rd district).
Rep. Julio Ledesma IV (Negros Occ., 1st district) and Siquijor Rep. Zaldy Villa were not present while the name of Rep. Isabel Sagarbarria (Negros Or., 2nd district) was not called.
Ledesma, Sagarbarria, and Villa were among the eight NIR solons who earlier signed the manifesto expressing support to the leadership of Romualdez.
Rep. Javier Miguel Benitez administered the oathtaking of Dy as the newly-elected House Speaker.
Dy belongs to the ruling Partido Federal ng Pilipinas.
The elder Benitez welcomed the change in leadership in the House of Representatives, calling it “the best way to move forward.”
“That’s a good move, that is probably the best way to move forward para at least makita na natin at mahanap ang mga katotohanan sa problema that’s rocking the House,” Benitez said.
Benitez earlier called for a change in leadership, which he said was necessary for “a new image” of the House amid the controversy on the government’s flood control projects.
“With this new leadership, we look forward to strengthening transparency, accountability, and unity in Congress as we work toward real solutions for the challenges our nation faces and the brighter future our people deserve,” the Bacolod lawmaker said.
Meanwhile, Dy, in his first address as Speaker, vowed that he would “not defend the guilty and not shield the corrupt” as he assumes leadership of a lower chamber plagued by anomalies surrounding public works projects.
He acknowledged that the House of Representatives has fallen short of its duties and asked the public for a chance to straighten up and clean its ranks.
“Under my leadership, this House will change. I will not defend the guilty, I will not shield the corrupt,” Dy said. | GB
