‘The best… is for them to be
at each other’s throats all the way to the time they are thrown out.’
We are watching developments with
bated breath. The thieves appear to be having a falling out. If true, they would
be continually keeping watch on each other, leaving them no time and opportunity
to come up with new deals aimed at stealing from the people. With luck, they
would be too busy exposing each other’s venality in the next two and a half
years. Before we know it, a new government would be power, hopefully less greedy
and rapacious than this one.
But our hopes could turn out to be misplaced. Malacañang Park
has been reserved for a round of golf on Sunday among President Arroyo, Speaker
Jose de Venecia, would-be Speaker Prospero Nograles, Executive Secretary Eduardo
Ermita and former President Fidel Ramos. Truly a fitting venue, for it was on
the fairways where the latest and most dangerous rift within the ruling party
started.
"Sec, May 200 ka rito," higher education chair Romulo Neri
quoted disgraced election chairman Benjamin Abalos as saying. And Neri swore
Abalos was not talking about a friendly bet on a round at Wack Wack.
Joey de Venecia III, the Speaker’s son and namesake, would
also testify during a Senate hearing that Mike Arroyo told him to "back off"
from the $330 million national broadband deal which was the background for the
"200" offer to Neri.
The overpriced deal, as a result, was scuttled by Gloria.
Joey, however, would not leave things well enough alone. He continued to testify
before the Senate and until this week enjoyed the open support of his father.
And thus is the stage set for the Speaker’s ouster on Monday unless a new modus
vivendi is struck on the golf course on Sunday.
Someone obviously is still smarting from the loss of the $50
million promised him as his share in the ZTE deal. Manay Gina bemoans how some
people could be so "ingrate" after all what her husband did to support their
political ambition in the early years and to save them from the fall in later
years.
Mrs. De Venecia is out of her depth. She has been scrupulous
in not using her husband’s position, except for promoting advocacies appropriate
to her unelected, honorific position as the Speaker’s lady, such as providing
shelter for abused women. So she truly finds puzzling the sight of knives poised
at her husband’s back.
But enough of this attempt to make sense of the ongoing maneuverings. We’ll
know the outcome soon enough. The reputations of the Palace and the House are
already beyond salvage. The best we could hope, to repeat, is for them to be at
each other’s throats all the way to the time they are thrown out.
