He is a member of the formerly dominant political party Kabalikat ng Malayang Pilipino and was a senatorial aspirant in the 2007 Philippine Senate election but lost.

[citation needed] Pichay ran for congressman for the 1st District of Surigao del Sur in the 1998 elections and won.

Coming under the heels of EDSA 2, Congress was reorganized and Pichay was elected Chairman of the House Committee on National Defense.

When the 13th 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 Appointments (CA).

In October 2006, Pichay authored House Resolution 1285, which sought to convene a constituent assembly to amend the 1987 Constitution.

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."

[2] Following his defeat, it was rumored that Pichay would be appointed by President Arroyo as head of the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration.

On August 28, 2008, Pichay announced that he will not accept his appointment as board member of the LWUA, for he is satisfied with his current job in a private company.

Eduardo Ermita announced that Pichay has decided to accept his appointment as board member with a nomination to be elected as chair.

[7][8] In September 2010, an employees' group of the LWUA filed a plunder complaint against Pichay before the Office of the Ombudsman for allegedly using the agency's money for his personal interest.

[10] On July 4, 2011, the Ombudsman ordered the dismissal of Pichay and two other officials for grave misconduct in connection to the 2009 acquisition of Express Savings Bank, Inc. by LWUA.

[15][16] Pichay ran for Congress in the 2016 Philippine general election to regain his seat from neophyte congresswoman Mary Elizabeth Ty-Delgado who was not seeking reelection.

[18] In October 2016, Pichay filed an ethics complaint against Surigao del Norte 2nd District Representative Ace Barbers following a confrontation between the two during a hearing of the House Committee on Constitutional Amendments.

[33] The Comelec En banc, in a judgment dated April 30, 2024, annulled Pichay, Jr.'s certificate of candidacy, granting Surigao del Sur's 1st congressional district Representative Romeo Momo Sr's certiorari petition and appeal.

[42] He was found guilty of three counts of graft by the Sandiganbayan in June 2022 and was sentenced to 18–30 years imprisonment with perpetual disqualification to hold public office.

[45] On October 20, 2016, the Ombudsman filed with the anti-graft court Sandiganbayan two criminal charges against Pichay in relation to a ₱1.5 million LWUA-sponsored National Chess Federation of the Philippines (NCFP) tournament named after him and held in his honor during his time as LWUA acting chairman in 2010.

He was also ordered to pay a fine of ₱5,000 and, along with his co-accused, to jointly reimburse the LWUA of its ₱1.5 million budget, plus an interest of six percent per year.

[49] In a phone interview with The Manila Times, Pichay said that he respects the court's decision but would be filing a motion for reconsideration.