The change in House leadership will mean little unless new governance delivers accountability and systemic reform as the flood-control corruption scandal drags both chambers into sterner public scrutiny, analysts warned.
The lack of systemic checks and balances in the disbursements of public funds has bred endemic corruption that high-profile investigations could only bring to the fore but not rectified without legal systemic reform, they said.
“This is not just about replacing faces,” Edmund Tayao, professorial lecturer at San Beda University and president of PEERS, said.
“We saw Napoles, then Pharmally, then the DepEd laptops. In each case, only those publicly outed were jailed, not the principals,” Tayao pointed out.
“The absence of systemic reform makes scandals inevitable. Now the whole government is consumed by investigations while essential services stall.”
Political analyst Froilan Calilung of the University of Santo Tomas said the speakership shakeup seeks to project control but risks entrenching the same power blocs. “At the very least, it shows the president is in command,” he said.
“But whether (newly elected) Speaker Faustino Dy III can chart an independent agenda remains to be seen. The public will be watching closely to ensure there is no whitewash of the corruption probe,” Calilung said.
Speaker steps down
The shakeup follows the resignation of Speaker Martin Romualdez on Wednesday, after mounting calls for his removal amid allegations that certain House members had received kickbacks from flood-control projects.
Romualdez, a first cousin of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., relinquished the gavel and recommended his deputy, Isabela Rep. Faustino “Bojie” Dy III, to succeed him. The majority of lawmakers voted Dy into the post.
Dy is a member of the Partido Federal ng Pilipinas, the president’s party, and hails from the powerful Dy political dynasty of Isabela. The new speaker is the son of former governor Faustino Dy Sr. and brother to former governors Benjamin Dy and Faustino Dy Jr., long-time allies of the Marcos family.
Low morale
Calilung said Dy’s ability to consolidate blocs in the House will determine whether Congress can move beyond paralysis and present a coherent legislative agenda.
“Morale is low, many congressmen are implicated, and priorities must shift back to governance and lawmaking,” he said.
Market watchers said the leadership change may not sway investors right away, but it shapes how people see accountability.
Luis Limlingan, managing director at Regina Capital Development Corp., said the transition “may not drive (investor) sentiment in the short term, but it helps shape perception of accountability.”
“At the very least, it gives the promise of restoring confidence in the system of government,” Aniceto Pangan, trader at Diversified Securities Inc., said.
Jonathan Ravelas, senior adviser at Reyes Tacandong & Co., agreed that the shakeup and the creation of an independent commission are “good steps in the right direction.”
He said, “People who are involved, private or public, must be punished. So people can start trusting in the system anew.”
Cycle of unresolved cases
Tayao warned that the corruption scandal is not limited to the current administration but part of a cycle of unresolved cases.
“The risk is that vested interests may ride on the issue to claw back power, even if they are not clean themselves,” he said.
For economist Alex Escucha, leadership turnover is never the end goal.
“The guilty must be punished, the money recovered, and real reforms put in place,” he said. “Otherwise, it’s just rearranging chairs on the Titanic.”
Dy’s early priorities
In his first remarks as Speaker, Dy pledged to steer the House toward “stability and reform,” emphasizing the need to realign priorities with lawmaking rather than patronage.
Lawmakers said his ability to match words with action will be the true test of whether the leadership change restores public trust or merely resets the political stage.
