Motives

Two large groups of congressmen have manifested their support for Speaker Faustino “Bojie” Dy. Despite this, it appears efforts to mount a coup at the House of Representatives continue.

- ALEX MAGNO

We only have scarce information about face-to-face recruitment to depose the sitting Speaker. But the effort continues largely online, using anonymous accounts. These accounts try of manufacture outrage through coordinated messaging.

In the absence of genuine disenchantment with the current leadership of the chamber, the coup effort is likely to remain in the darkest corners. But a power grab still remains a possibility should more legislators find enough reason to participate in the conspiracies.

Itshould be easy to enumerate the possible motives driving the effort to unseat Dy.

Several congressmen linked to the raging corruption scandal and facing possible charges are disappointed the current House leadership is not doing more to protect them. On the contrary, Speaker Dy has declared the House will fully respect the mandate of the Independent Commission for Infrastructure and will cooperate with all the agencies of the executive branch involved in unearthing the scale of the corruption.

In a word, the House leadership will not shield errant legislators. Early estimates put the number of congressmen who could be dragged to court for involvement in the flood-control mess at about a tenth of the chamber’s membership. This includes the socalled “cong-tractors” who broker budget items to favor their businesses.

By upholding the rule of law, Speaker Dy breaks from the traditional practices of the politically powerful. When held to account, influential personalities rely on the old boy networks and the usual back channels to evade prosecution.