Who is Faustino “Bojie” Dy III?
By Jed Queenny Cruz
After Martin Romualdez stepped down as House Speaker, Quezon City Representative Ralph Tulfo nominated Congressman Faustino “Bojie” Dy III as his successor. With 253 lawmakers voting in his favor and 28 abstentions, Dy was officially proclaimed the new Speaker of the 20th Congress.
This raises the question: Who is Faustino “Bojie” Dy III, and why did his colleagues choose him to replace Romualdez?
Dy hails from the influential Dy political clan of Isabela. His family’s political roots trace back to 1971, when his father, Faustino Dy Sr., became governor of Isabela and forged close ties with then-dictator Ferdinand Marcos Sr. The Dy and Marcos families have maintained a longstanding political alliance.
Today, two other members of the Dy clan also sit in Congress—his nephews Ian Paul Dy (3rd District) and Faustino Michael Carlos Dy III (5th District). Meanwhile, Bojie Dy himself succeeded his own son, Inno, as representative of the 6th District. Inno now serves as the mayor of Echague.
In the 20th Congress, Dy has authored 25 bills, most of them focused on Isabela. However, he has also pushed for broader measures, such as the creation of a Sierra Madre Conservation and Development Authority, the strengthening of the National Research Council of the Philippines, and the inclusion of life skills courses in both public and private high schools.
Despite his long career, Dy has largely kept a low profile in the often tumultuous House of Representatives. Before returning to Congress this year, he served as Isabela governor from 2010 to 2019 and as vice governor from 2019 to 2025.
His career has not been without controversy. In 2022, Dy and 12 other provincial officials faced plunder charges over a P1.3-billion road project that allegedly bypassed public bidding. The complainant, former Angadanan mayor Manuel Siquian, accused the group of granting “unwarranted benefits” to the Dy family, claiming the road led directly to their beach property.
As Dy assumes the highest seat in the House, the question now is whether he will continue the path set by his predecessor—or chart a different course. How he addresses the mounting challenges within Congress will define his leadership in the coming months.
