The story goes that when Speaker Bojie Dy needs to talk to Majority Leader Sandro Marcos, or vice versa, it’s the 65-year-old Isabela gentleman, the country’s fourth-highest official, who goes down to the office of the President’s son, not the other way around.
It’s a peculiar visual, confirmed in private to Rappler by two congressional sources who have personal knowledge about the two leaders’ dynamic. “It’s the mountain that comes to Mohammed,” one of them quipped.
More than a year into his speakership, Dy has mostly avoided the weight of the scandals that crushed his predecessor Martin Romualdez. He enjoys a sterling reputation among his colleagues, and even clashing voices agree he’s a nice guy.
But he also carries the enduring perception of playing second fiddle to the son of the commander-in-chief.
His speakership comes with the mighty title. But is the actual power sold separately?
Unexpected rise
Dy was not top of mind to become the new House speaker. By August 2025, it was becoming clear to Malacañang that the flood control fiasco had exhausted Romualdez’s remaining political capital, and he had to go.
Those initially in contention to replace him were Navotas’ Toby Tiangco, Bataan’s Abet Garcia, and Bacolod’s Albee Benitez. Garcia and Benitez reportedly did not pass the Palace’s vetting, while Tiangco had already publicly said he did not want the chamber’s top post.
Dy’s name only came up later, but the choice made sense. He already belongs to the President’s Partido Federal ng Pilipinas, and was even the first PFP lawmaker to be included in Romualdez’s deputy speaker roster for the 20th Congress.
He was also seen as nonpolarizing. He wasn’t angling for the speakership or seen as politically ambitious or selfish. The Isabela native was just returning to the House after spending 15 years as governor and vice governor.
Dy may have come from a political family that lorded over Cagayan Valley’s largest economy for decades — 16 relatives are currently in government — but he did not have the same connections that made Romualdez a powerhouse in Congress.
Dy, nonetheless, was obviously the safe choice for speaker by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., as both of their families go way back, and the two share the “Solid North” regional bond.
Dy’s father, the late patriarch of their dynasty, was a loyal ally of dictator Ferdinand E. Marcos. Dy was already active in the Kabataang Barangay (KB) during the Martial Law regime.
“Though he was from a very influential political family while I was from humble roots, we got along well because as always he was down to earth, kind, and soft spoken,” Caloocan 2nd District Representative Edgar Erice, Dy’s KB contemporary, told Rappler.
In 2016, Dy backed Marcos Jr.’s failed bid for the vice presidency, and again in 2022, when the dictator’s son successfully reclaimed Malacañang.
As speaker, Romualdez was always seen as the President’s reliable shield against any impeachment attempt. When his time was up, Marcos needed another loyal ally. Dy fit the bill.
“We see no basis that would justify the impeachment complaint filed against President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.,” Dy said as soon as a petition against Marcos reached the House for the first time earlier this year.
From Our Archives Who is Faustino ‘Bojie’ Dy, successor of Martin Romualdez as House speaker?
Restoring House order
On Day 1 of Dy’s leadership in September 2025, he made a commitment to clean up Congress’ ranks. “We have fallen short,” he admitted.
Dy had two main tasks: calm an electorate frustrated with corruption in Congress, and ease the anxiety of lawmakers who feared they were the next target of the administration’s supposed anti-graft campaign.
Whether he succeeded in both is another story.
This was the height of the scandal, when dozens of lawmakers were being exposed for their alleged ties to construction firms that undertake public works projects for hundreds of millions — if not billions — of pesos.
Zaldy Co. Edwin Gardiola. Dong Gonzales. Chiz Escudero. The Dutertes. The Villars.
“Speaker Dy told lawmakers at the time, let’s trust the process. If you’re not involved and have nothing to worry about, let the process take its course,” Senior Deputy Speaker Ferdinand Hernandez, Dy’s closest House ally, said.
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Dy oversaw the abolition of the small committee, a closed-door group that decided which budget amendments to accept even after the House had passed the spending bill.
The Dy-led House instead livestreamed budget amendment deliberations to show more transparency. But watchdogs it supposedly partnered with remained dissatisfied, and called efforts an “empty gesture.”
The House’s 2026 budget reportedly added P23 billion for public works. Dy’s district was a top recipient, with funding more than tripled to P3.8 billion from P1.1 billion. For 2027, public works allocations for his district stand at P3.1 billion.
“We were asked to sacrifice, yet their districts were the ones that benefited,” House Deputy Speaker Ronnie Puno, president of the House’s second largest bloc National Unity Party, said in March 2026, when he publicly criticized the House leadership over budget woes.
Puno’s callout of the Speaker underscored Dy’s limited power to give Congress a fresh start after the budget scandal.
Must Watch WATCH: Why the budget process of Philippine Congress is prone to corruption
Ceremonial speaker?
When Dy became speaker, he retained all of Romualdez’s deputy speakers and added five more, inflating the roster. He also kept Romualdez’s budget chair, Mika Suansing.
Unlike Romualdez, Dy is not perceived as the epicenter of power in the House. It’s the President’s son, the 32-year-old Sandro, who has become an unstoppable force in the chamber, according to numerous lawmakers whom Rappler spoke with.
“If a congressman has needs for his district, they are more comfortable reaching out to Sandro than the Speaker,” one lawmaker from the majority, speaking on condition of anonymity, explained, citing Sandro’s direct line to the Palace.
“Sandro has become politically mature, unlike before when he played a more background role.”
2026 BUDGET. Speaker Bojie Dy and Majority Leader Sandro Marcos pose for a photo op with other House lawmakers after it passes the proposed 2026 budget in October 2025. Photo from Sandro Marcos’ Facebook
Another lawmaker said that Sandro, with all the power he commands, needs Dy and his candor to soften the message.
“There are some lawmakers who find Sandro to be abrasive sometimes,” the second source said. “Si Bojie ang taga-areglo, taga-masahe (Bojie is the one who smoothens things out and acts as a mediator).”
Kamanggagawa Representative Eli San Fernando recalled his lobbying efforts on the abolition of provincial wage rates. It hasn’t borne fruit despite support from Dy and over 200 lawmakers.
“The logical thing is for Majority Leader Sandro to schedule it for plenary consideration. But he doesn’t, because the Palace and the economic managers do not want to,” San Fernando said.
Senior Deputy Speaker Hernandez thinks the Speaker has more agency than what the public sees. “It is unfair to say that because the Majority Leader is the son of the President, the Speaker will lie low. The Speaker is just quiet, but the President talks to the Speaker directly,” Hernandez said.
TRUST. President Marcos and Speaker Dy speak on the sidelines of a Palace event. Photo from Dy’s Facebook
Other deputy speakers speak positively of Dy, who is often described as “humble.”
“He is a good person, amicable and very down to earth. He is always available,” Deputy Speaker Benitez told Rappler.
“He goes around without a retinue of camp followers, and his office in the House is not a closed, exclusive private club of privilege, but open to all representatives and to the people,’” Deputy Speaker Raymond Mendoza said in a separate text message to Rappler.
Crafting a legacyThe unspoken limitations of the title that Dy holds complicate any effort to leave a personal legacy.
His flagship initiative is LegisHear, a program intended to bring Congress closer to the people. It involves lawmakers going to the provinces to hear their constituents out and help shape future legislation.
But is the House under his leadership effective in its lawmaking function?
In the first year of the 20th Congress from July 2025 to July 2026, out of his 52 pet bills, President Marcos enacted only one — the resetting of the Bangsamoro elections.
Almost half of these proposals had already hurdled the House, but the Senate — plagued by infighting and leadership coups — has become a bottleneck. Many measures, even those considered a priority, were pushed to the backburner.
From Our Archives Marcos ends fourth year with fewer enacted pet bills to brag about
These factors have left the Speaker little to no tangible legislation to brag about.
The stalled proposals include the House bills on freedom of information, much-criticized anti-disinformation, the widely welcomed travel tax abolition, institutionalizing the government’s social amelioration program AICS, and the diluted anti-dynasty legislation.
The Speaker’s Kalinga bill, meant to ease fuel-driven inflation, found no strong Senate champion. Of what good is a meritorious House bill if no senator will carry it across the finish line?
Rappler has written to Dy’s office, asking for a sit-down interview. It has not been granted as of writing.
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Future vice president?
These days, there has been loose talk of Dy being a strong candidate for the vice presidency, should Sara Duterte be convicted at the impeachment court.
Dy is said to have played a passive role in the entire impeachment saga, despite being head of the chamber that enabled her trial at the Senate.
Hernandez claimed that even Dy didn’t know the final tally on the day of the May impeachment vote, only that there were enough numbers to indict the Vice President. At the trial, Dy delegated the task of managing the prosecutors to Deputy Speaker Jayjay Suarez.
The Constitution states that when the vice presidency is vacated, the President shall nominate a replacement from among the members of the Senate and the House.
Dy has not publicly declared his intent for the job, and likely won’t. Even his closest allies call him a reluctant speaker who never chased the post many of his colleagues covet.
“I’m not endorsing anyone, but he’s kind. BBM will sleep soundly if he is the vice president,” Navotas Representative Toby Tiangco told Rappler, when asked about what he thinks of Dy as a potential veep.
“Whether he will be a good VP to the Filipino people remains to be seen but he definitely will be a good VP to the President,” Erice added.
The vice presidency isn’t Dy’s to lose in this world of what-ifs. For him to get it, Duterte must first be removed, rumored rivals (Chiz Escudero, Win Gatchalian, Tito Sotto, even Lito Lapid) must step aside, and he must be offered the post and accept it.
For a man whose influence has been doubted, maybe the idea that he is being considered, has the agency to say yes or no, and has the opportunity to be reluctant, is power in itself. – Rappler.com