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A senior House leader on Friday lashed out at Cebu
Congressman-elect Pablo Garcia, saying he is not worthy to be
speaker because as head of a political dynasty he could not be
expected to introduce meaningful reforms in the chamber.
Garcia has said he will
challenged Jose de Venecia for the speakership when the Fourteenth
Congress opens in July.
Rep. Mauricio Domogan said Garcia
and his son, Pablo John, who represents Cebu’s Third District,
have not responded to charges that they are the spearhead of a
political dynasty.
Domogan, a supporter of de
Venecia, said the House will try to revive the antidynasty bill of
Assistant Majority Leader Arthur Defensor once sessions begin.
Another pro-de Venecia lawmaker,
Junie Cua called on Garcia to heed the handwriting on the wall and
“withdraw from the speakership race gracefully with the wisdom of
a statesman.”
On Thursday Deputy Speaker Eric
Singson said the President revealed at a luncheon in Vigan that she
had “already committed” to back de Venecia.
“The President has clearly
stated her commitment to Speaker de Venecia, and I believe no amount
of misinformation by Garcia’s camp can ever reverse this
presidential position,” Cua said.
He said the actions of Garcia and
other Kampi supporters betrayed a “growing desperation which no
amount of bravado and media propaganda can rescue.”
“The Garcia camp is staring at
the road to perdition if it persists in its campaign,” said Cua.
Domogan said Garcia is known to
be facing two cases before the Ombudsman, and he has not adequately
answered charges that his family is a full-scale political dynasty
which is banned by the Constitution.
“With due respect, Garcia does
not and will not be the leader and spokesman for reforms that his
group has bandied about,” Domogan said.
De Venecia and his allies earlier
said the Speaker was not just up against Garcia and Pablo John but
other members of their family, including Garcia’s daughter,
Gwendolyn, the governor of Cebu; and his son, Winston, the general
manager and president of the Government Service Insurance System.
Defensor said de Venecia
“struck a resonant chord when he said he was running against a
full-scale political dynasty in facing Garcia’s challenge for the
House speakership.”
Defensor and Domogan said de
Venecia deserves a fifth term as speaker after showing unflinching
support for the antidynasty bill by prohibiting any member of his
family from seeking public office.
Camarines Sur Rep. Luis
Villafuerte, the Kampi president who is backing Villafuerte, said
Singson was putting words in the President’s mouth that were the
exact opposite of her position on the speakership issue.
Villafuerte said Mrs. Arroyo
herself had said countless times before that she would stay neutral
in the speakership issue and described Singson’s statement as
“yet another attempt on the part of de Venecia and his minions to
sow disinformation.”
“I just wish that de Venecia
would spare the President their machinations and disinformation
campaign. I mean, how low can they go?” Villafuerte said.
He said Mrs. Arroyo’s wish to
let House members decide who should be Speaker had been confirmed
not only by Press Secretary Ignacio Bunye but by Executive Secretary
Eduardo Ermita.
Two other Kampi members,
Representatives Jose Solis of Sorsogon and Amado Bagatsing of
Manila, said that based on Singson’s statements, the de Venecia
camp was trying to fool no less than the President by claiming that
de Venecia already has the support of the majority of congressmen as
speaker.
“Singson said they showed the
President a list of 160 congressmen who allegedly are supporting de
Venecia as Speaker. This is a grand deception that mirrors the
deceit and double-dealing that has marked de Venecia’s bid to
cling to power,” Solis said.
Bagatsing confirmed that de
Venecia got the signatures of the congressmen long before he learned
that Garcia would challenge him.
“I should know because I too
was a victim of de Venecia’s misrepresentation of that list,”
said Bagatsing.
Genuine Opposition spokesman Adel
Tamano believes the President’s endorsement of de Venecia might
actually boost him to a fifth term as Speaker.
“I do not think [Mrs.
Arroyo’s] support is a kiss of death since the dynamics of the
congressional [speakership] and senatorial [midterm elections] is
different,” Tamano said.
The opposition is fielding its
own bet for speaker, San Juan Congressman Ronaldo Zamora.
Tamano said the assurances given
by de Venecia that he would make the minority leader a congressman
belonging to the opposition was a “plus factor.”
Asked if this would mean that the
opposition would support de Venecia, Tamano said: “We haven’t
made that statement, we have not made that commitment yet.”
The opposition has 33 elected
congressmen in the Fourteenth Congress.
 --Maricel
V. Cruz and
Francis Earl A. Cueto
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