Friday, February 29, 2008 JDV to form own political party
OUSTED House Speaker Jose de Venecia III is planning to form a new political party once he is eased out of the ruling Lakas-Christian Muslim Democrats (CMD) because of his differences with President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo over the anomalous national broadband network (NBN) deal with China.
Raul Lambino, de Venecia's lawyer, said the former Speaker is also considering joining a smaller party if he is removed from Lakas during its national directorate meeting on March 3.
Lambino said they are prepared to seek a relief from the Commission on Elections (Comelec) if Lakas will insist on ousting de Venecia as party president because they have not received a formal invitation to the meeting or even a notice.
"We are prepared for any legal battle if and when they push through with that meeting," he said, stressing that de Venecia has no plans on resigning from the party despite having been ousted as Speaker.
Before he left for the United States last Tuesday for a speaking engagement in the United Nations, de Venecia warned that Lakas would automatically lose its international status if he is ousted as party president because he is also the president of the Centrist Democrats International (CDI).
Lambino said it would be better for Lakas to wait for de Venecia to return on March 6 and reset the national directorate meeting.
Quezon City Representative Matias Defensor, chairman of the committee on justice, has advised de Venecia to just leave Lakas to avoid further humiliation.
Defensor, the father of former presidential chief of staff Michael Defensor, could also not hide his disappointment on de Venecia's sudden political turnaround.
"When he was Speaker, JDV (de Venecia) said GMA (President Arroyo) is the best president the country has ever had. But when he was ousted, all of a sudden, she became the worst president this country ever had way out," he said.
De Venecia has already sought the help of former President Fidel Ramos to prevent the merger of the Lakas-CMD and the Kabalikat ng Malayang Pilipino (Kampi) and "get rid of the evil forces that are now bedeviling" the ruling party.
In a letter dated February 25, de Venecia urged Ramos to drive away the "evil forces" from Lakas and join another party "where they can be comfortable with their greed and pathetic practices."
In his letter, de Venecia asked Ramos to stop the "decline and demise" of the ruling party, which he said is now in "the grip of Malacañang and heavily infiltrated by the forces of Kampi and the President's family and cronies."
He said the President has supported Kampi's "raiding of our party leaders or the fielding of candidates opposing our party's official candidates in the 2007 elections in Kampi's inordinate desire to become the dominant administration party."
He said First Gentleman Jose Miguel "Mike" Arroyo is in control of Kampi, along with sons Pampanga Representative Juan Miguel "Mikey" Arroyo, Camarines Sur Representative Diosdado "Dato" Arroyo, and brother Negros Occidental Representative Ignacio Arroyo who all led the campaign to oust him. (WV/Sunnex)
