Regaining trust

Plucked from relative obscurity, the new Speaker of the House of Representatives issued all the right statements and promises.

- ANA MARIE PAMINTUAN

Faustino “Bojie” Dy III of the Dy dynasty in Isabela acknowledged that the House suffers from a huge deficit of public trust.

“Give us a chance to regain your trust,” Dy told the nation after he was sworn in as Speaker last Wednesday. “Under my leadership, this House will change.”

Among his promises are a clean national budget with judicious fund allocations. “I will not defend the guilty. I will not shield the corrupt,” he said. And he will not allow any House member to use the chamber for personal purposes.

It was a recurring theme in Dy’s acceptance speech: the people’s interest must be paramount, and must always be above the personal interests of lawmakers.

“We will be transparent and accountable,” he vowed, adding that congressmen would listen to the daing or complaints of the people, because “they are the reason we are here.”

“Our duty is not to protect each other. Our duty is to protect our people,” he said, as he promised the public: “We will listen to your voices.”

He said political colors would not figure in his actions for accountability, as he sought the support of all his colleagues in cleaning up their act.

And there lies the rub. After all his glowing promises to the people, the reaction of many of his colleagues could be: “Speak for yourself.”

House members applauded his speech, but it seemed unenthusiastic and more a polite acknowledgment of his newly elevated status in the political pecking order.