Thursday, February 07, 2008 Wenceslao: JDV’s dilemma By Bong O. Wenceslao Candid Thoughts
THE ouster of Jose de Venecia as speaker of the House of Representatives has brought an interesting twist to the country’s politics. Will he make good his threat to join the political opposition? If so, how much damage can he inflict on the administration of President Arroyo? And can he survive the expected Malacańang counter-offensive?
The initial salvo de Venecia fired in his speech prior to his ouster Monday night was but a rehash of old charges against President Arroyo. He needs to substantiate those claims to be credible. Rep. Mikey Arroyo has dared him to bring his charges to the courts where evidence not rhetoric prevails. The opposition surely wants nothing less, too.
But first he has to settle matters with his own group the Lakas-NUCD where he is party president. Lakas is a major component of the administration coalition and many of its leaders have criticized the substance of de Venecia’s speech last Monday. Calls to expel him from Lakas are made, thus it is unlikely he can bring Lakas to the opposition.
Is JDV willing to jump to the political opposition on his own? If he is, then he will have to content himself playing the role akin to that of Luis “Chavit” Singson vis-ŕ-vis the Estrada administration. It is doubtful if he will be given a big role in opposition affairs, as he is a mere “transferee” and because the opposition is in excess of “leaders.”
There’s also the question of his willingness to go all out against President Arroyo. De Venecia has the advantage, as witness, of having been an insider, although how deep he has penetrated the President’s “war room” is still to be looked into. The problem with being an insider is that the dirt the administration is playing with is also on your fingers.
Besides, de Venecia may also have some skeletons in his aparador. Rep. Dato Arroyo, the other presidential son in the House, gave the public a glimpse of these skeletons when he voted to declare the post of speaker vacant. Dato talked about de Venecia’s failure to subject the House’s finances to an accounting.
If de Venecia will move full speed against the Arroyo administration and damn the torpedoes, he can be the country’s new hero. But if he wavers or let political survival and personal interests get the better of him, he will be an outcast, kicked out of the Arroyo administration and shunned or toyed with by the political opposition.
