Tuesday, February 05, 2008 Maxey: To have and to hold By Ram Maxey Bar None
EVEN as I write this piece on Monday, I'm wondering what is happening over in the House of Representatives where a power struggle between the "haves" and the "have-nots" is supposed to come to a head as Congress officially meets in session for the first time this year.
The "haves" are members of the House who are in the good graces of its chief operating officer, Speaker Jose de Venecia Jr. (JDV), who is facing ouster at the hands of the "have-nots" led by Davao City Representative Prospero "Boy" Nograles. The former are in power, so to speak, while the latter are outside looking in and have been salivating to take over that power and institute reforms in the House by ousting JDV and installing Boy as the Speaker.
The expected scenario after JDV calls the session to order is for the Nograles bloc to express its loss of confidence in the leadership of De Venecia, which would then necessitate putting the issue to plenary voting with each member explaining his/her vote. However, there's a chance that there may be no need for that should De Venecia make a graceful exit before that happens.
That's a Chinaman's chance of happening, however. JDV has vowed to fight (to his last supporter?), claiming that the manifesto containing 138 signatures of members opting for a change in the leadership is merely a list of names, period. In that case the power struggle in the House could be "bloody" as some members described the situation. As I write this, it is already past four o'clock in the afternoon of Feb. 4, 2008 and I'm wondering if there already is turmoil among the "honorables" assembled thereat for this historic development in the annals of Congress.
De Venecia's back is against the wall, thanks to his rapidly dwindling support from erstwhile supporters who partook of the spoils during his heyday as Speaker. But in politics there are no permanent alliances, only permanent interests. Hence, it seems that only a miracle can save the situation for embattled Jose de Venecia.
In which case, Boy Nograles will be the next Speaker. The first Mindanaoan to hold the post, and of course the first Dabawenyo for that matter. How he will fare as House leader remains to be seen. A lot of people regard Congress as a snake pit of sorts where ambition sometimes mock certain members' "useful toil..." to paraphrase a line in poetry.
But even as he sits as Speaker of the House of Representatives, Boy Nograles will use his newfound political power and influence to enhance his chances to win as mayor of Davao City in 2010. For the past 20-odd years, Boy has always cast a moist eye towards City Hall. Observers of the local political scene believe that becoming Speaker of the House may be a cinch for Boy as of this moment, but winning the mayoralty race in Davao City in 2010 against Inday Sara Duterte is a very tall order.
