Jose De Venecia, the Cry Baby

After the fight for the House speakership has ended on the night of January 4, 2008, it can be generalized that the lower house has made a crucial decision after some sarcastic speeches was delivered against the present administration. In analysis, it was a decisive act that should end all the bickering and battling among these lawmakers… now they can go back to work. However, the losing faction, specifically Cong Jose De Vencia’s camp will not end it without a fight. It means that the country will bothered again by losers and such episode is expected to be exploited by anti-PGMA forces, the opposition, opportunists… and even left-leaning organizations. The worst thing is that De Venecia’s camp is already out making pronouncements against the President without any benefit of the doubt. Perhaps the people already know that the whole mess was started out by none other but De Venecia’s son, the former drug addict and spotlight hungry idiot – Joey De Venecia III. PGMA and JDV’s political alliance crumbled but whoever between the two should have a “debt of gratitude” can be assessed on past accounts.

In the 1998 presidential race, JDV ran for the top position but he miserably did not make it. He exhausted all his wealth and resources making him broke and desperate for a government position. It was in 2001when PGMA was installed as President that JDV had his break since the former was more than willing to help the latter to get out of his pitiful situation. Benjie Lim, then Representative of the 4th District of Pangasinan, was about to run for another term. Lim’s party believes in the principle of “Equity of the Incumbent,” making him a highly probable winner. It was also then that PGMA asked Lim to stand down and leave the room for JDV. In the 2001 election, JDV won as congressman of the district in which he ran unopposed. With such account, JDV may still have been in the mud if it was not for the chance given by PGMA . It was not the only instance that PGMA saved JDV’s political career. Before JDV was unseated in his position as House Speaker, Lakas and Kampi members have already initiated JDV’s ouster but PGMA once again calmed down the situation. Butch Pichay and Pablo Garcia challenged JDV’s leadership that may have probably led to an early mutiny but the President saved his ass. It was a clear manifestation that JDV’s ability to lead the Lower House is very much questionable.

With the recent turn of events, JDV lost his position and pronouncements were made to discredit the President. Most of these publicity are obviously to discredit PGMA, however, most of them are fabricated in an attempt to get even. Gina De Vencia, JDV’s wife, recently made an assertion that if it was not for her husband, PGMA may not have not have reached the country’s top position. She claimed that it was JDV who endorsed PGMA to then President Joseph Estrada for the DSWD top position. Contrary to such account, it was Ambassadors Espiritu and Siason who brokered the Estrada-PGMA ties, while Rolly Trinidad brother of Mayor Pewee Trinidad and a member of the NAIA board who endorsed PGMA to the Estrada administration. It was also a far cry that JDV endorsed PGMA since during that time, JDV was still in his electoral protest after losing the Presidency to Joseph Estrada. It was a clear fabricated account on the part of Gina De Venecia in a desperate attempt to bring into disrepute the President. In other account, JDV claimed that he adopted PGMA to be his running mate relative to the 1998 national election. However, the truth was that, several political parties are after PGMA since she was evidently popular during that period. Her popularity is the main buying for a virtual political endorsement. It is implicit that she chose whom to run with and not the other way around.

With the expected outrage from JDV supporters, let it be known that most of their pronouncements and would-claims will probably be fabricated and false accounts in order to lift their credence. At this point, the truth remains of who should be called “ingrata” as what the JDV camp addressed PGMA. It was rather the other way around…