Palace washes hands of oust-Bojie float

Malacañang on Thursday pushed back hard against speculation that President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. was maneuvering behind the scenes in the ongoing turmoil within the House of Representatives, insisting that the President has “nothing to do” with leadership changes in the chamber.

“Choosing the leader of Congress is not in the hands of the President. Whatever their decision is, it is not within the President’s purview,” Presidential Communications Undersecretary and Press Officer Claire Castro told reporters, stressing that House politics, including any move against the sitting Speaker, is an internal affair.

The statement came as rumors swirled that House Deputy Speaker Ronaldo Puno could replace Speaker Faustino “Bojie” Dy III. Castro dismissed the talk, saying that any leadership shakeup rested solely with the lawmakers.

Dy took the speakership on 17 September with overwhelming support — 253 votes and no opposition — replacing Leyte Rep. Ferdinand Martin Romualdez, a cousin of the President who  was   linked to the alleged flood control anomalies. 

Puno, chair of the National Unity Party, denied a coup plot. “I continue to support Speaker Bodjie,” he said.

But political pressure inside the House is rising fast, and Malacañang’s insistence that Marcos is staying out of the fray comes as the President himself spotlighted lawmakers and DPWH officials now facing potential corruption charges.

The President this week turned over the first batch of case referrals from the Independent Commission for Infrastructure to the Office of the Ombudsman. 

Thirty-seven individuals — Senators, congressmen, former DPWH officials and private contractors — face possible cases including graft, corruption, malversation, falsification and plunder.

Among those named were Senators Joel Villanueva and Jinggoy Estrada, former House appropriations committee chair Zaldy Co, former DPWH Secretary Manuel Bonoan, and several engineers and contractors linked to major flood control projects.

Romualdez, however, is not on the list. Marcos stressed that his cousin’s exclusion was based on evidence — and that no prosecution will proceed without it (evidence).

“Any action that we take will be based on verifiable evidence,” the President said, adding a warning that reverberated across the political establishment: “No one is immune. No one is exempt from these investigations.”