With no prior experience in politics, Pichay ran for congressman for the 1st District of Surigao del Sur in the 1998 elections for the position to be vacated by Mario S. Ty In 2000, Pichay joins congressmen who endorsed the verified complaint against President Joseph Estrada. Coming under the heels of EDSA 2, Congress was reorganized and Pichay was elected Chairman of the House Committee on National Defense. He was again named to the same post when his constituents overwhelmingly voted him into office in the elections for the 12th Congress. Pichay was re-elected as congressman in the 2004 elections. When the Thirteenth Congress was organized, Pichay's political career would take on a more prominent course: he was named Head of the House of Representatives Contingent to the powerful Commission on Appointment. Pichay voted to junk the 2005 and 2006 impeachment complaints against President Arroyo. At the height of the "Hello Garci Scandal", he said there was nothing wrong with Arroyo talking to Comelec officials, as all candidates talk to them to protect their votes. On October 2006, Pichay authored House Resolution 1285, which sought to convene a constituent assembly to amend the 1987 Constitution. One of his proposals is the abolition of the Philippine senate and the creation of a unicameral parliament. The resolution was widely opposed by civil society and church groups and the resolution was shelved on the same month. When the Department of Justice announced a plan to ban all government officials from going to bars, karaoke joints and other nightspots, Pichay assailed the move as the "highest form of hypocrisy." Pichay believes there is nothing wrong with going to bars if public officials do it on their own time. “Moralizing is very subjective. We should not mix it with governance." On August 28, 2008, Pichay announced that he will not accept his appointment as board member of the Local Waterworks and Utilities Administration LWUA, for he is satisfied with his current job in a private company. Pichay Jr., however, on September 4, changed his mind and accepted his appointment as a member of the board of the LWUA. Eduardo Ermita announced that Pichay has decided to accept his appointment as board member with a nomination to be elected as chairman.
Senatorial bid
Pichay ran for senator in 2007 under TEAM Unity but lost after placing 16th in the overall results. Pichay reportedly spent P127.39 million for campaign ads, the highest candidate expenditure for that election.
Other positions
Pichay holds several positions, including:
Dates unknown: Chairman of the Philippine Surfing Federation
August 2008–present: Member of the Board of Local Waterworks and Utilities Administration
RA 9355 - Act Creating the Province of Dinagat Islands
RA 9340 - Amending RA 9164 to extend the terms of office of barangay officials and reset the date of barangay elections
RA 9344 - Juvenile Justice and Welfare Act
Criticisms
Pichay criticized Department of Environment and Natural Resources Secretary Gina Lopezin September 2016 for closing down numerous mining sites in the country which were proven to have destroyed Philippine natural environment. He called her 'crazy' during a house consultation where Lopez was not invited. It was later found that Pichay is the president of the board of directors of Claver Mineral Development Corp., a nickel mining firm operating in Barangay Cagdianao at the municipality of Claver. Pichay reportedly acquired 60 percent of the mining firm. The mining firm's operation were scrapped by Gina Lopez after the firm violated the mining standard of the country, destroying the environment during the time the mine was in operation. Pichay also faces multiple charges of graft, malversation and violations of banking regulations for approving when he was Local Water Utilities Administration chairman the allegedly anomalous buyout of an insolvent bank owned by the business clan Gatchalians.
