• GILBERT P. BAYORAN
Bacolod Lone District Representative Alfredo Abelardo Benitez brushed aside reports of an alleged change in the leadership of the House of Representatives.
They don’t have the numbers, stressed Deputy Speaker Benitez, whose assertion was seconded by his son, Negros Occidental 3rd district Rep. Javier Miguel Benitez.
“At times like this, I don’t know where such a story came from,” Benitez said.
Former presidential chief legal counsel Salvador Panelo earlier claimed that Antipolo Rep. Ronnie Puno, who is among the many Deputy Speakers of the House, is being considered by some lawmakers as the next speaker of the House of Representatives.
In an interview on Bilyonaryo News Channel’s At The Forefront, Panelo said lawmakers were gathering numbers for a House leadership change, and just waiting for the right time to replace House Speaker Bojie Dy.
Puno also serves as chairman of the National Unity Party.
Benitez maintained that there is no threat to the leadership of the incumbent Speaker, and there is no need for the Visayan bloc to issue a manifesto supporting him.
Benitez is the convenor of Visayan Bloc, which is composed of about 50 solons in the Visayas.
He stressed that most of his colleagues are now focused on the situation confronting the country.
Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo also denied earlier any role in alleged speakership maneuvers and categorically rejected claims tying her to an ouster plot. She reaffirmed her support for the current House leadership under Speaker Dy.
Dy, Isabela 6th District Representative, assumed the House speakership in September 2025 following the resignation of former Speaker Martin Romualdez, who has been dragged into the flood control corruption scam.*
