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I am torn between my love for my son and my loyalty
to the President,” said Speaker Jose de Venecia Jr. in reaction to
the testimony of his son, Joey de Venecia 3rd, during a Senate
hearing last week, linking the President’s husband, Mike Arroyo,
to the controversial $329-million national broadband network deal
in favor of China’s ZTE Corp.
Joey claimed that in a supposed
reconciliation meeting between him and Comelec Chairman Benjamin
Abalos in mid-March at the Wack Wack Country Club, the President’s
husband ordered him to “back off” from the deal, pointing a
finger to his face.
He had earlier accused Abalos of
attempting to bribe him with $10 million in consideration of the
withdrawal of his company, the Amsterdam Holdings, Inc., from the
project.
The young de Venecia’s Senate
testimony identifying the “powerful man” at the Wack Wack
meeting as Mr. Arroyo has enormously compromised his father’s
position as House speaker.
Cebu Rep. Pablo Garcia, who had
contested the speakership at the opening of Congress last July, and
his chief House backer, Kampi president Luis Villafuerte, promptly
seized the opportunity to ask Speaker de Venecia to take a leave of
absence obviously to give them room for maneuvering a leadership
change.
President Arroyo’s
brother-in-law, Rep. Ignacio “Iggy” Arroyo, remonstrated against
the young de Venecia’s claim. In retaliation, he said his support
for the Speaker had ended as of the moment Joey made his damaging
revelation. As expected, the President’s son-congressmen—Mikey
and Dato—rallied behind their uncle in withdrawing support for the
Speaker.
The question now is does the
Garcia group have the numbers to oust the Speaker from his post?
There were reports that soon after Joey’s testimony at the Senate,
a group of congressmen, mostly Kampi members and Garcia supporters,
met in Malacańang purportedly to plot a “coup” in the House
against the incumbent leader.
But a significant number, mostly
rabid de Venecia loyalists, stayed behind in a demonstration of
support for the Speaker. Many are members of the Lakas-Christian
Muslim Democrats, of which the Speaker is head, and some from Kampi
itself.
The Speaker isn’t daunted by
the move of the Garcia-Villafuerte camp to seek his ouster. He
blunted any impression of an open break between him and the
President by saying he has remained loyal to her.
The Speaker had stood squarely
behind the President in warding off two impeachment complaints
against Mrs. Arroyo in the last two years. He vowed to stand beside
her in the event of any new impeachment complaint.
Whether the President likes it or
not, the specter of an impeachment continues to haunt her, like a
“sword of Damocles” hanging over her head. There are many
questionable government transactions occurring during her
watch—notable of which are the “Hello, Garci” scandal, which
had something to do with the legitimacy of her election in 2004, the
multimillion-peso fertilizer scam and now the ZTE broadband
network deal—which are potential bases for an impeachment
complaint.
The President cannot afford at
this time to polarize the House, which holds the mandate to accept
an impeachment complaint, investigate it and file the articles of
impeachment with the Senate. All that it needs to approve an
impeachment complaint is one-third of the House membership, or 79
votes.
As things stand, there are an
estimated 50 opposition House members who may vote according to
partisan lines to impeach the President. A deposed de Venecia,
counting on his loyal supporters, can easily muster a significant
number to join with the opposition members in voting to impeach the
President.
Some political leaders consider
it “unwise” and “ill-advised” for the President and her
House allies to “rock the boat,” as it were, by provoking a
leadership change in the House as she will be taking the risk of
being unseated the moment an impeachment complaint is filed against
her.
De Venecia has well proven
himself as a loyal and trusted ally of the President. He still
wields a tremendous influence and a strong hold on the House
membership. The President needs him and his effective leadership.
It is true that the Speaker is
caught between the devil and the deep blue sea as a consequence of
his son’s accusation against the First Gentleman. But in order not
to unduly risk losing his seat in a leadership showdown, he should
remember the dictum that “prudence is the better part of valor.”
Truly, the President and the
Speaker need each other.
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