Tuesday, May 29, 2007

Challenging Speaker De Venecia

The challenge Kampi President Luis Villafuerte put up against Speaker De Venecia for the speakership of the House seems to be fizzling out faster than you can say committee chairmanships. Speaker De Venecia, now a septuagenarian, seems to be heading for a fifth term as Speaker.

It is not hard to imagine how the Speaker will once again pull off another term. No other personality comes close to De Venecia as an ideal power fiscalizer: friendly to everybody, never badmouthed anyone, always ready to give due consideration to just about every opinion voiced in the House. His disposition is of the type usually seen only in the most serene yogi. The personality of a perfect consigliere, in short.

Congressman Pablo Garcia of Cebu, the challenger, is also not actively seeking the position despite Villafuerte's brandishing his name around like a Damocles' sword on Speaker De Venecia's neck. As the Inquirer reports today, Garcia was only informed by Villafuerte through phone that he has been duly appointed by Kampi to challenge De Venecia. Akbayan Representative Risa Hontiveros, however, smells something sinister in this half-serious political moro-moro (or lutong macao, choose your own political incorrectness) at the House. Acording to her, Kampi might just be challenging Speaker De Venecia in order to gain the House minority leadership, with the goal of the Arroyo administration controlling both the majority and the minority in the Lower House.

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