THE HOUSE leadership shake-up on September 17 carried a touch of suspense for the people of Bacolod City and Negros Occidental.
Everyone — especially the local politicos — was expecting Bacolod’s Lone District congressman Albee Benitez to make a bid for the Speakership against Isabela’s 6th District congressman Bodjie Dy, the early favorite. Alas, he did not. Instead, before the casting of votes at the plenary, Albee simply said: “I respect the majority.”
Reading between the lines, Albee knew he was not the choice of the country’s lawmakers. Many “Albeenians” in Bacolod and Negros Occidental felt frustrated, and even local political analyst Joemax Ortiz admitted being surprised by the turn of events.
Ortiz, in an earlier interview immediately after the Senate’s leadership change — from Chiz Escudero to Tito Sotto III as Senate president — predicted that Albee would be next in line to replace Leyte’s 1st District congressman Martin Romualdez as Speaker of the House of Representatives.
RESOURCE-RICH
According to Ortiz, Albee is one of the wealthiest congressmen in the country, being a well-known gaming mogul.
He also pointed out that Albee is a childhood best friend of President Bongbong Marcos and a close acquaintance of First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos.
So while Albee is technically independent in Congress, Ortiz said that all Albee really needed was a “blessing” from the President to ascend to the Speakership.
It seemed perfectly logical at the time.
NOT SHORTLISTED
However, on Tuesday night, September 16, I receive an official copy of the shortlist reportedly submitted to President Bongbong for his final decision. Albee’s name was nowhere on it.
Only Dy and three others — congressmen Ronnie Puno of Antipolo’s 1st District, David “Jay Jay” Suarez of Quezon’s 2nd District, and Albert Garcia of Bataan’s 2nd District — were included in the President’s options.
But even before the shortlist was released on Monday, September 15, something even more striking emerged: a Manifesto of Support publicly released by Negros Island Region (NIR) solons rallying behind Romualdez.
Of the 11 NIR solons, including Siquijor, only Albee and his son Javi of Negros Occidental’s 3rd District withheld their signatures. For obvious reasons — Albee was then still rumored as one of the top contenders for the Speakership. Understandable.
AN INDIRECT ‘NO’
The manifesto from NIR solons sparked intrigues and speculation. Many explanations circulated, but for me, it was an indirect way of saying “no” to Albee’s Speakership bid.
The NIR solons already knew that Romualdez was bound to step aside to preserve his cousin’s integrity amid the flood control scandal. They were under no illusion that the Leyte congressman would be ousted. But in a last-minute move, they issued the manifesto to stress support for the outgoing Speaker.
LOSING MOMENTUM OF CHARM AND INFLUENCE
Let’s be candid. When Albee was congressman of Negros Occidental’s 3rd District (2010–2019), he was politically charming and influential. But that momentum slowly faded when he became the controversial mayor of Bacolod.
Why? Because during his term as mayor (July 2022–June 2025), Albee weathered numerous storms — both personal and political — that left him grappling with crises of credibility and integrity.
According to an unimpeachable source, this decline in stature has greatly diminished his influence in Congress and even in Malacañang. Once admired as one of the “bigating politicos” in the Visayas, Albee could no longer sway even his childhood friend, President Bongbong.
LOSING ‘SOFT POWER’
Losing political charm and influence can trigger a perception crisis. The impact leaves scars of leadership and is tantamount to losing the very “soft power” essential to political survival.
If Albee does not hire a strong public relations (PR) team to “treat” the political keloids he now bears, he risks further political disasters.
And he must act quickly — before those political scars rub off on his son, Congressman Javi, a budding politician.
As American evangelist Billy Graham once said: “We must have the highest standards of morality, ethics, and integrity if we are to continue to have influence.”/PN
