The discovery of deep and rampant corruption in flood control projects has triggered a furious public outcry, scorching the halls of Congress with demands for accountability.
In response, the political machinery whirred into action, not with a fundamental reckoning, but with what seemed a calculated maneuver: replacing House Speaker Martin Romualdez with Isabela Representative Faustino “Bojie” Dy III.
From all angles, it was a change in leadership — a superficial one.
In reality, it was a lateral move within the same entrenched system — from one member of a powerful political dynasty to another.
We would like to be wrong on the matter, but there is no denying that there is running in the minds of not a few political observers that this swap in the House leadership is less about really diving deep down into the root causes of corruption than about managing the public’s perception, its doubt that this would effect the genuine change the people are demanding.
On its face, replacing a key presidential ally embroiled in scandal with a new figure seems like a positive step. It creates an illusion of decisive action and responsiveness to the public sentiment.
Representative Dy, as the new Speaker, can very well temporarily serve as a heat shield, deflecting the public anger away from the corruption that is eating up the halls of power and eroding public trust and the ruling coalition over which Romualdez played (or still does) a leading role.
The gentleman from Isabela can promise continued hearings on the corruption in flood control projects and a renewed commitment to integrity.
But this assessment ignores the fundamental similarity between Romualdez and Dy: their roots in dynastic politics.
The Romualdez and Dy families are both quintessential examples of political clans that have maintained control over their respective regions for decades.
This system, by its very nature, prioritizes clan preservation, patronage, and loyalty to an internal network over unwavering fidelity to the public good.
The same structure that enabled a Romualdez is the very structure that produced a Dy.
The central question, therefore, is not whether Bojie Dy is a better individual than Martin Romualdez, but whether a product of the dynastic system can be trusted to dismantle the very mechanism that empowers it.
The corruption in public works flood control projects is not an anomaly; it is a symptom of a patronage-driven political economy where contracts are used to reward allies and to consolidate power. It is a manifestation, in raw form, of the avarice of those in power for much more cash than their rotten pockets could hold.
For Speaker Dy to effect the kind of change people are demanding, he would have to perform nothing short of a political miracle.
It might even require him to act against his own self-interest and that of his class.
Beyond introducing and institutionalizing true reform which would mean championing legislation that could weaken dynastic control (anti-dynasty laws, empowering party-list groups independent of traditional clans), it would mean overhauling the pork barrel-like system that allows for discretionary funds to be so easily stolen and/or abused.
It would demand a transparent, impartial, and ruthless investigation into the flood control mess, one that would follow the evidence wherever it may lead, even to top allies or his own family.
The political cost of integrity would be monumental, as it would alienate the very base of support that sustains his power.
In conclusion, the replacement of Romualdez by Dy could very well just be a political tactic designed to stabilize things until the public fury cools down rather than a move to genuinely effect long-lasting transformational change that would totally eradicate corruption in both the public and private sectors.
Those in power must be conscious of the fact that the people’s anger stems from a hunger for justice and their desire to get a break from the corrupt status quo.
They need to realize that the heat scorching Congress will not be eased by a new figurehead operating under the old rules; it will only be tempered by demonstrable, systemic change clearly showing that the government is there to serve the people’s interests, and not the perpetuation of the power of ruling families.
The burden of proof lies not with a skeptical public, but with Speaker Dy who now has a chance to show all and sundry that, if need be, he could and he would defy the very system from whence he came.