De Venecia days as House Speaker are numbered?

**Zeus** · January 31st, 2008 09:42 PM

OUST DE VENECIA CAMPAIGN
134 sign ‘no confidence’ paper vs Speaker--Villafuerte

To seek House leader’s voluntary resignation
By Maila Ager
INQUIRER.net
First Posted 15:01:00 01/31/2008

MANILA, Philippines -- (UPDATE) At least 134 lawmakers at the House of Representatives have signed a manifesto declaring “loss of confidence” in Speaker Jose de Venecia Jr., Kabalikat ng Malayang Pilipino (Partner of the Free Filipino, Kampi) president and Camarines Sur Representative Luis Villafuerte said Thursday.
Villafuerte said he would present the manifesto, signed by all 56 members of Kampi, 11 neophyte solons, and some members of the Liberal Party and De Venecia’s own party, the Lakas-Christian Muslim Democrats (CMD), to the Speaker on Monday and then ask him to voluntarily step down.
However, Majority Floor Leader Arthur Defensor of Iloilo laughed off Villafuerte’s disclosure and challenged the Kampi president to bring the matter to the floor for a vote.
“Sa sabi lang ni Villafuerte maniniwala na kami sa kanya? Hintayin na lang natin kung may tao nga. Pakita niya muna sa [Just because Villafuerte says so, we should believe hium? Let’s wait until there are warm bodies. Let him show it on the] floor [of the House] because it’s easier said than done,” Defensor said in a phone interview.
But as if to underscore Villafuerte’s claim, three administration lawmakers -- Representatives Crispin Remulla of Cavite, Antonio Cerilles of Zamboanga del Sur, and Amado Bagatsing of Manila -- openly called for De Venecia’s resignation, citing what they called the Speaker’s poor leadership.
“134 signed the manifesto of loss of confidence [in De Venecia] and more are still signing,” the lawmaker said in a separate phone interview. The number of signatures is already more than the 121 needed to oust the Speaker, who can be unseated by a simple majority of the 240 members of the House.
Villafuerte said they would continue to gather more votes but not because they expected some lawmakers to withdraw their signature later on but to ensure superiority.
“Gusto lang namin talagang madagdagan yung bilang. Kahiyaan na yan kapag binawi pa nila. E pano kung i-publish namin yung signatures nila, mag one-page ad kami [We just want to add to the number. It would be embarrassing if they withdraw their signatures. What if we publish their signatures, come out with a one-page ad]?” he said.
However, Villafuerte said he would rather try to convince De Venecia to step down than bring the issue to the floor.
He said he was supposed to meet the Speaker Thursday but the meeting was cancelled because media had “preempted” the contents of the manifesto.
“Mag-uusap kami ni Speaker sa Monday dahil ang sabi niya noon, pakitaan lang siya ng [We will talk with the Speaker on Monday because said before to just show him] 121 signatures and he will step down. So we will present to him more than 121,” said the Kampi head.
“Sasabihin namin na, ‘O sabi mo, pag nakakita kami ng majority, you will step down o baka naman gusto mo pa ng bakbabakan sa floor [We will tell him, ‘You said, if we find a majority, you will step down, or maybe you want to slug it out on the floor]?’”
“I think he [De Venecia] should just step down. Ito na yung graceful exit na sinasabi. Huwag nang mag-resist [This is the graceful exit we were saying. Don’t try to resist], it will just be a futile, useless effort. Alam ng matatalo, gusto pang mabulgar [You already know you are a loser, you want to make a spectacle of it],” he said.
But Defensor said he would rather see things settled on the floor. “Paano kung bina-bluff lang niya kami? E di pinagtawanan kami ng mga tao [What if he is just bluffing us? People will laugh at us]. I stand by the position of my party. Hindi naman ako basta nagdedesisyon dahil lang sa sabi ng iba [I do not make decisions on the say-so of others]. I’m not gullible,” he said.
Deputy Speakers Simeon Datumanong of Maguindanao and Eric Singson of Ilocos Sur also reiterated their support for De Venecia.
But asked if he would withdraw his support if asked to by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, Datumanong said: “I’ll cross the bridge when we get there.”
Arroyo is Lakas chairman but also the founder of Kampi.
Although she gave orders last week to maintain the status quo in the House, moves to oust De Venecia have continued, with allies of the Speaker accusing Arroyo’s husband, Jose Miguel, and congressmen sons Juan Miguel of Pampanga and Diosdado of Camarines Sur, of being behind the plot.
Singson, for his part, said he would rather see the row resolved within the administration coalition than brought to a head on the floor.
“Ang sa akin [My position is], if there’s any move to remove him [de Venecia],hindi dapat ganun. Dapat merong [it shouldn’t be like this. There should be a] consensus among all the groups within the coalition,” he said in yet another phone interview.
“I don’t want the voting to be done. It will be very painful for both sides,” the lawmaker added.
Remulla said de Venecia would be doing a “heroic” gesture if he stepped down and nominate his successor.
"Speaker JDV's [De Venecia’s initials] favorite words are 'heroic' and 'historic.' I advise him to live up to those words by stepping down from the Speaker's chair and nominating a congressman from Mindanao to be the next Speaker," Remulla said in a statement.
Davao Representative Prospero Nograles is reportedly being eyed to replace De Venecia.
Remulla said the Speaker should make “the supreme sacrifice by giving way to defuse the tension in the House and keep it going so it can fully concentrate on serving our people.”
Bagatsing cited the alleged lack of transparency in dispensing House funds, the lack of reforms and De Venecia’s failure to discipline and prevent his son, Jose III, from supposedly maligning the President and her family, as the reasons for withdrawing his support for the Speaker.
"There are just too many House members who don't trust Mr. De Venecia now. If not now, when?" he said.

"JDV should now accept that his time has passed. He should step down now voluntarily before he is voted out of office," he stressed.
For his part, Cerilles noted the Speaker’s alleged inaction on a resolution unanimously passed by the chamber last year calling for an accounting of how House funds were being used.
"But to this day, no accounting has been done by Speaker De Venecia. Thus, there is now a widespread loss of confidence [in] his leadership among congressmen," the lawmaker said.

"He has to go," Cerilles added.

Source: www.inquirer.net
Jan. 31, 2008

**chua_riwap** · February 2nd, 2008 01:23 AM

Tapos na si Tenga.

**explorer** · February 2nd, 2008 02:30 AM

straight from the person who used his mother's skirt to win the government positions...

from : www.inquirer.net

Mikey Arroyo: ‘De Venecia hiding under my mother’s skirt’

February 01, 2008
Updated 20:05:16 (Mla time)
Joel Guinto
INQUIRER.net

MANILA, Philippines -- (UPDATE) President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo's son, Pampanga Representative Juan Miguel "Mikey" Arroyo, accused House Speaker Jose de Venecia of "hiding" under her skirt.

At the same time, the President’s eldest son hinted he would defy his mother’s appeal for a “status quo” at the House of Representatives.

De Venecia, who is fighting off an ouster attempt from members of the President's Kabalikat ng Malayang Pilipino (Partner of the Free Filipinos, Kampi) party, declared on Thursday evening he still enjoys President Arroyo’s “all-out support.”

"Now that his leadership is in danger, he is hiding under my mother's skirt," Representative Arroyo said in an interview in Candaba town, Pampanga province, where the President graced the first Ibon Ebon (Birds-Eggs) Festival.

The young Arroyo said he believed that the embattled De Venecia set the meeting with the President on Thursday night.

Shortly after the meeting, De Venecia announced at a press conference that “President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo is declaring her all-out support for our leadership.”

Representative Arroyo said he would go with the majority at the House of Representatives in deciding De Venecia's fate.

"My stand remains the same. The President should not meddle in the internal affairs of the House. Anyway, my vote, one vote, should not matter," he said.

Once staunch allies, the President's ties with De Venecia reportedly soured after the speaker's son, Jose de Venecia III, linked First Gentleman Jose Miguel Arroyo to the bribery scandal surrounding the botched $329-million national broadband network (NBN) contract with China’s ZTE Corp.

In an earlier phone interview, Arroyo's deputy spokesperson, Lorelei Fajardo, confirmed De Venecia's claim that the President continues to support him.

Fajardo also said that the President considers the moves of her relatives to unseat De Venecia as a "party matter."

Aside from the Pampanga congressman, the President's other son, Camarines Sur Representative Diosdado Arroyo, and brother-in-law, Negros Occidental Representative Ignacio Arroyo, are among over 130 lawmakers who signed a manifesto declaring “loss of confidence” in De Venecia.

Last week, President Arroyo also gave orders to maintain the status quo in the House even as allies of the Speaker accused the First Gentleman and his lawmaker sons of being behind the ouster plot.

But Mikey Arroyo on Friday denied this, saying, "There is no single person or group which is behind the supposed ouster of the Speaker.”

“But we cannot hide that there are gripes. There are many issues. There are non-disclosures in the non-disbursements of funds in the House. There is the non-deliverance of promises concerning reforms and there's the issue of disloyalty," he said.

He admitted harboring ill feelings towards De Venecia III, a losing bidder in the the broadband deal.

"Joey de Venecia has continued to hit our family without the benefit or semblance of any proof. Maybe [because of] his background on drugs; maybe he's hallucinating again," he said.

"The question is when Joey de Venecia talks, he does not present any proof. I would like to present another issue: What business does he have, as the Speaker's son, in government contracts? And what business does his father have for encouraging him?"

"This is one of the gripes of Congress," Arroyo said.

Asked if his father, who supposedly ordered the Speaker's son to "back off" the deal, was angry at the De Venecias, Mikey said: "I cannot answer that. I'm not my father's spokesperson."

On Thursday, De Venecia said he and his wife Gina had talked to his son to refrain from making further statements against the First Family “in order not to exacerbate the ties with Malacañang.”

**shadow** · February 2nd, 2008 08:49 AM

JDV had it coming, when his son testified on the senate, and we all know that it was the father, sons and uncle who are behind this oust JDV thing....

it's now GMA's time to tell JDV that she can't talk to her sons, husband and brod in law, bec they are their own men

**kimpOy** · February 2nd, 2008 09:53 AM

yan ang reason why ruling party lakas focus more on the lower house during the 07 election rather than the senate... hmm magkano kaya bawal ng tongressman

**buriroy** · February 2nd, 2008 05:32 PM

Just goes to show that Congress is a snake pit where the famous
adage holds true - "No permanent friends nor permanent enemies,
only permanent interests.

JDV being the King Cobra should know this all too well.

**chilli** · February 3rd, 2008 09:52 AM

ACCORDING TO PALACE AIDE
Arroyo won’t stop sons in fight vs De Venecia

MANILA, Philippines -- President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo will not rein in her two sons -- Pampanga Representative Juan Miguel “Mikey” Arroyo and Camarines Sur Representative Diosdado “Dato” Arroyo -- from leading the charge to unseat Speaker Jose De Venecia, Malacañang said Saturday.
Secretary Cerge Remonde, a member of the President's inner circle, said by phone that Arroyo's sons had the right to speak out against De Venecia as members of the House of Representatives.

“They have the right to speak as congressmen, the same way Joey De Venecia can't be stopped by his father, JDV," said Remonde, chief of the Presidential Management Staff.
“So maybe the statement of Mikey was made in the same manner that (De Venecia) can't control the statement of Joey. Quid pro quo,” said Remonde.
When reminded that the President had thrown her support behind the Speaker's continued hold on power, Remonde said he wasn't privy to the dialogue between the President and the Speaker in Malacañang on Thursday.
“I will stick to (the Palace position) that we cannot interfere. We in Malacañang observe the policy that we don't meddle in the internal affairs of the House of Representatives,” he said.
Remonde pointed out, however, that as congressmen, the Arroyo sons “are entitled to participate in the affairs of the House.”
Mikey Arroyo has mocked the Speaker’s efforts to enlist the President’s support.
“Why is JDV hiding under the skirt of the President?” Mikey Arroyo said Friday.
Remonde said there would be no showdown on Sunday on the Malacanang Golf Course.
President Arroyo has invited former President Fidel Ramos, a known De Venecia backer, De Venecia, Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita, Remonde, and other Lakas stalwarts to play golf with her.
De Venecia's challenger, Davao City Representative Prospero Nograles, has sent word he could not make it because of a “speaking engagement” in Davao.
"It's just a fellowship, no winners and losers. Just play your game," Remonde said. Tee-off will commence at 7 a.m., but Arroyo will arrive late since she will be attending Sunday mass first, he added.
Remonde said that after the game, Lakas officials will meet to discuss the agenda of the Lakas-CMD national directorate assembly on February 7.
In the same breath, however, Remonde said De Venecia “always has the support of the President,” a statement which further confused the situation.
No one in Malacañang was willing on Saturday to state the real score on the power struggle within the ruling administration party, with both Interior Secretary Ronaldo Puno and Press Secretary Ignacio Bunye refusing to issue any clarification.

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