|
The fate of former Speaker Jose de Venecia Jr. as
president of Lakas-Christian Muslim Democrats will be decided by the
party’s National Directorate on February 21, Sen. Juan Miguel
Zubiri said Wednesday.
Zubiri, the Lakas
secretary-general, said the party will hold its assembly to
fine-tune policies and strategies.
On Monday when de Venecia was
voted out by House lawmakers as speaker, he delivered a privilege
speech mentioning anomalies allegedly perpetrated by the Arroyo
administration. Then on Tuesday, the former speaker said he will
divulge the supposed anomalies “in due time.”
Malacañang officials reacted to
the speech, saying de Venecia had burned his bridges with President
Gloria Arroyo and, thus, should resign as Lakas president – others
say, from the party as well. Others, like Cabinet Secretary Ricardo
Saludo, said de Venecia was just emotional about losing the
speakership, and his actions were understandable under the
circumstances.
If de Venecia loses his party
post, sources said, his likely successors include Quezon City Mayor
Feliciano Belmonte, now the Lakas executive vice-president, and
former Surigao del Sur Rep. Butch Pitchay, a vice-president.
Zubiri said the assumption of
Davao City Rep. Prospero Nograles as Speaker of the House of
Representatives strengthens the party’s dominance with 96
congressmen and the most number of local executives compared to
other political parties.
“We are going to continue our
role as a catalyst for national development by initiating positive
advocacies and ensuring the passage of major economic reform bills
in Congress that will benefit the poor and marginalized sectors of
our society,” he added.
He said there is a need to
strengthen the relationship between the Palace and Congress –
primarily through the Legislative-Executive Development Advisory
Council (Ledac) – to fast-track the passage of major reform bills.
“Lakas-CMD will be at the forefront of these efforts.”
No probe
The House leadership has ruled
out the possibility of conducting an inquiry into the emotional
speech of de Venecia Jr. that mentioned allegations of corruption
and anomalies in the Arroyo government.
The move came after Camarines Sur
Rep. Luis Villafurte of the Kabalikat ng Malayang Pilipino (Kampi)
and a staunch de Venecia critic blocked efforts to have the charges
investigated.
Earlier, Rep. Teodoro Casiño of
the left-leaning Bayan Muna party-list brought up the allegations
made by de Venecia, suggesting the matter should be referred to the
House Committee on Good Government. Casiño added that the speech
involves “allegations of misfeasance and malfeasance in the
government.”
“This is the good chance for
the new leadership of the House to dispel rumor that he [Speaker
Nograles] is beholden to Malacañang, for the Committee on Rules
to immediately transmit the privilege speech for specific action,”
he said.
But Villafuerte argued that de
Venecia’s speech was a valedictory speech, and as such, it is
sufficient to just put his statements on record.
The plenary ruled in favor of
Villafuerte.
--Sammy Martin And Maricel V. Cruz
|
