The present attempt to unseat Speaker Jose De Venecia appears to be the most serious threat to the House’s longest-serving speaker.

The campaign to change the House leader, backed by the President’s sons (Diosdado “Dato” and Juan Miguel “Mikey” Arroyo) and in-law (Ignacio Arroyo), has been gaining ground as a faction of the Liberal Party (LP) and some party-list representatives declared they will back another Lakas stalwart, Davao City Rep. Prospero Nograles.

This has boosted the numbers of the ‘reform bloc’ led by by Camarines Sur Rep. Luis Villafuerte of the Kabalikat ng Malayang Pilipino (Kampi), which was founded by President Arroyo.

The Arroyos’ falling out with De Venecia began when the Speaker’s son, Jose “Joey” de Venecia III, named the First Gentleman as the person behind the overpriced national broadband deal. President Arroyo, however, has said that she continues to support De Venecia.

Nograles needs a majority, or 120 votes, to unseat De Venecia. Villafuerte said over the weekend that they have the signatures of 134 congressmen in a manifesto declaring ‘loss of confidence’ in De Venecia. But Villafuerte has not shown us this manifesto.

The memberships of Kampi (about 50), LP (about 25), and the Mindanao congressmen (about 30) who were the first to back Nograles totals to 105. The ‘reform bloc’ is also counting on the National People’s Coalition (about 25), at least 10 votes from the party-list representatives, and more defections from Lakas.

Villafuerte and Nograles have asked the Speaker to make a “graceful exit” to avoid a “bloody battle” on the floor. As of this writing, De Venecia has rejected the offer, saying he would rather go for a “transparent” voting on the floor to see if his critics really have the numbers.

FOURTH TRY

The current showdown in the House of Representatives is the third attempt to unseat De Venecia in the 14th Congress alone. In the 13th Congress, there was one such attempt.

De Venecia had been Speaker in five congresses since 1992. His term was broken in 1998 when he ran and lost the presidential race against Joseph Estrada. He regained the post in 2001 and has since been able to defeat his challengers.

Here’s a list of the recent failed attempts to unseat him:

Camarines Sur Rep. Luis Villafuerte: November 2007 (14th Congress)

Some congressmen led by Villafuerte called for Speaker De Venecia to step down to allow for an independent investigation of the ethics complaint filed against him by lawyer Rafael Pulido, formerly counsel of the Magdalo soldiers. Although Villafuerte denied eyeing the post, reports persisted that if De Venecia stepped down, he would sit as acting Speaker.

Pulido claimed the Speaker violated the anti-graft law because of the involvement of his son, Joey De Venecia III, in the botched broadband deal network. The complaint and the move to unseat De Venecia did not materialize. (Read: JDV “Never Safe” but Will Remain Speaker)

Cebu Rep. Pablo Garcia: July 2007 (14th Congress)

The 14th Congress started with a tumultuous session that almost led to a Speaker-less House during President Arroyo’s scheduled state of the nation address (SONA). Two hours before the SONA, the House was still deliberating on the authority of House secretary-general Roberto Nazareno to act as presiding officer when he was elected during the 12th Congress.

Shortly before the SONA, the deliberations ended and De Venecia was nominated as Speaker. It was immediately closed and seconded. Kampi did not make good its threat, making no move to even nominate Garcia. (Read: ‘It’s still JDV!’) 

Prior to the opening of the session, Garcia, then 81, was presented as a “transition figure” to break De Venecia’s rule in the House. (Read: ‘Just Get JDV Out’). Nograles was then all out for De Venecia.

Aside from Garcia, Rep. Annie Rosa Susano was earlier floated to be eyeing the post. But she later threw her support behind De Venecia.

Although the opposition didn’t have the numbers, Rep. Rufus Rodriguez was also encouraged to challenge De Venecia if only to claim the post of House Minority Leader. It did not materialize. Rep. Ronaldo Zamora became minority leader.

Surigao Del Sur Rep. Prospero Pichay Jr. : November 2005 (13th Congress)

While the Congress was on recess, Lakas congressman Prospero Pichay Jr. tried to gather the support of Kampi and his colleagues in Mindanao. He criticized De Venecia for the lack of transparency in disbursing funds and promised that it wouldn’t be that way under him.

Reconciliation meetings were organized by their party, Lakas, to fix their differences, but Pichay repeatedly refused. When the session resumed in November 2005, it was opposition congressmen who called to move all seats vacant. The motion was put to a viva voce voice and the nays had it.

Apparently, the conflict within Lakas had been addressed. Pichay said he lost support because De Venecia was able to address the reforms he was calling for. --with research from Jesus Llanto

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