BY WENDELL VIGILIA

HOUSE Speaker Jose de Venecia was unseated last night but not before reciting a litany of graft and corruption against the Arroyo administration.

A motion declaring the speakership vacant was on the way to being carried with the "yes" votes running to three to one against the "no" votes.

A total of 121 votes was needed to pass the motion.

It was uncertain if the oust-De Venecia bloc would move for the election of its nominee, Rep. Prospero Nograles, as the new Speaker last night. It could opt to call for the election in today’s session.

In a privileged speech that lasted almost an hour, an emotional De Venecia also dwelt on the allegations of massive cheating in the 2004 elections.

"I know there were many attempts to tamper with the results of the 2004 elections," he said in a speech that drew big applause from the gallery.

De Venecia said he would discuss his knowledge on the 2004 electoral fraud in another privilege speech.

"The time has now come for us to speak out, put an end to abuse of power and arrogance!" he said, stressing his call for a moral revolution.

De Venecia also blew the whistle on the alleged irregularities on the sale of Transco which he said was secured by a company closely associated with the Arroyos despite the bigger $6 billion offer of mining magnate Salvador Zamora, brother of minority leader Rep. Ronaldo Zamora.

He also mentioned the misuse of the road users’ tax, and the pork barrel system as a means to whip congressmen into line.

De Venecia also revealed how presidential sons Juan Miguel (Pampanga) and Diosdado (Camarines Sur) were given special treatment in the distribution of pork.

De Venecia recalled how he helped then Sen. Gloria Arroyo become his running mate in 1998 and how he stuck with her all throughout the crises that met her administration, from the yearly impeachment complaints filed against her to several coup attempts.

Despite this, he said, Malacañang and presidential spouse Jose Miguel Arroyo hired lawyer Roel Pulido to file graft cases against him before the committee on ethics and another case against him and his son Joey before the Ombudsman when the latter spilled the beans on the anomalous $329 million national broadband network deal with China’s ZTE Corp.

"The lawyer hired by Malacañang, hired by the First Gentleman, filed an Ombudsman case against me and my son," he said.

Not contented, he said, Malacañang revived the hundred million-dollar alleged behest loan during the Marcos regime of his old company Landoil Resources.

De Venecia said he could not stop his son because he would not allow the people to pay the $200 million overprice on the NBN deal when there were other bids to carry it out through a build-operate-transfer scheme.

Joey, co-owner of Amsterdam Holdings Inc. (AHI), had offered to carry out the project at much lower cost to the government.

De Venecia also lambasted Malacañang for not lifting a finger to investigate the threats to his and Joey’s lives at the height of the scandal.

Before he ended his speech, the Speaker moved to amend the motion of Rep. Kahlil Abraham Mitra (NPC, Palawan) to declare the speakership vacant into one declaring all seats vacant.

The move to unseat De Venecia began at 4:32 p.m. when Mitra moved to declare the Speaker’s seat vacant which was seconded by Rep. Jose Solis (Kampi, Sorsogon).

At least 212 out of 239 responded to the roll call in the jampacked session hall.

De Venecia’s wife Gina and son Joey were in the gallery.

The session was suspended for more than an hour when Rep. Rodolfo Plaza (NPC, Agusan del Sur) and Solis rose on a point of order by minority leader Ronaldo Zamora who stood to question Mitra’s motion and clarify some issues concerning the position of his bloc.

Plaza and Zamora later agreed to withdraw their questions to expedite the proceedings. This followed by a lengthy debate on whether De Venecia should be allowed to speak on Mitra’s motion.

"Wag naman po tayo masyadong malupit, tatarakan na natin sa likod, di pa natin pagasasalitain (si Speaker)," said Bayan Muna party list Rep. Teddy Casino, whose move was opposed by reform bloc members led by Rep. Pablo Garcia (Kampi, Cebu).

Presiding officer Noli Fuentebella (NPC, Camarines Sur) ruled in favor of De Venecia, saying he was rising on the higher constitutional privilege over the motion to declare his seat vacant.

REHASHED ISSUES: PUNO

Kampi chairman and presidential political adviser Ronaldo Puno said De Venecia’s accusations were all a "rehash" of issues discussed in the media in the past few months. He said there was "nothing new that has not been said by Joey de Venecia.

Puno said De Venecia was "just being emotional."

On De Venecia’s statement that he knows more about the electoral fraud in the 2004 elections, in his capacity as Kampi chair, Puno said the Speaker should have revealed those things a long time ago.

He said De Venecia should resign from the administration coalition "if he wants to be consistent." He said he should separate himself from the people he has accused.

"I was expecting him to resign from the administration coalition so I don’t know what the point of the speech was," he said.

Chief presidential counsel Sergio Apostol, Lakas-CMD spokesman, said President Arroyo has done everything for De Venecia and that his fate is now up to the majority coalition.

Deputy presidential spokeswoman Lorelei Fajardo said the emotional outburst of De Venecia is understandable. "His motherhood statements, however, must be backed by solid evidence and brought before the proper forum. We wish the former speaker well."

Cabinet secretary Ricardo Saludo said De Venecia’s claim that Pulido filed a complaint against him because of monetary inducement "conveniently disregards" the real anomalies cited in the lawyer’s petition.

"And the former Speaker’s uncorroborated claims of irregularities and threats are best brought before independent and impartial commissions and courts, which give weight to hard evidence, not angry rhetoric," he said. – With Regina Bengco