Business Circuit
“The rulers of the state are the only ones who should have
the privilege of lying, either at home or abroad.”- Plato, Greek philosopher,
The Republic
* * *
JDV goes to war
Like a knight in not exactly shining armor, former Speaker
Jose de Venecia lashed out at Malacanang, at President Arroyo for that matter,
for the excesses it committed in the past and continues to commit.
JDV mentioned what everybody has known from Day One: that
President Arroyo cheated in the elections of 2004 to satisfy her hunger for
power.
There is an absolute necessity for anyone, particularly a
former speaker of the House to denounce anomalies in the administration of
President Arroyo.
The only problem we see is that JDV slept on the anomalies
all the time that he was speaker. Suddenly he woke up and saw with his unaided
eyes the excesses of the administration he supported and backed for seven years.
Which raises the question: Would he have denounced the Arroyo
regime as corrupt if he had not been yanked out as speaker? My answer is no.
House under thumb of Palace
In a functioning democracy, the three
branches of government – Executive, Legislative and
Judiciary – are co-equal and independent from one another.
I dare say that the House of Representatives, which is a
legislative branch, is not independent.
It is completely under the thumb or spell of Malacañang. Most
of the time, the surrender of independence is prompted by money. We remember
that 180 congressmen went to Malacañang in October and got "gifts" of P500,000
each in cash.
Now they are paying in kind. Using her husband and their two
sons, Arroyo threw out Speaker Jose V. de Venecia and had him replaced with
Davao City Congressman Prospero Nograles.
Malacañang violated the interdependence of the three
branches. The House of Representatives, has become a complete lapdog of the
Palace. Its members take orders from the President. What the President wants,
the President gets.
Opposition ally
The Opposition might have found an ally
in De Venecia. He is expected to denounce all the excesses
of Malacañang and its powerful occupants, with or without
proof.
Proof of corruption is hard to come by. We in media simply go
by the old saying "where there’s smoke, there’s fire."
It is important to remember that when Congress was canvassing
the votes for president and a bitter quarrel among the members ensued as charges
of cheating flew, the Speaker did not have one word. He sat at his rostrum and
allowed things to die down, as he knew they would.
But he had a duty, if he loves his country and the democracy
that runs it, to conduct an investigation into the charges. He never lifted a
finger.
Vulnerability
De Venecia may have skeletons of the Arroyo regime that he
can expose. But JDV may have lost the right to accuse the Arroyo government of
corruption. Some of his own skeletons may be in that closet.
If I were in the Arroyo regime doing battle with JDV, I would
begin by splashing all over town his connections with Ferdinand Marcos.
De Venecia’s Landoil made lots of money in the Middle East. I
would dig the records and find out if he left unpaid obligations after the
company practically ceased operations.
If Landoil owes money to the government, I would force
collection even if I had to hale him to court.
We also have NorthRail which, I understand, got a contractor
from China with the help of President Arroyo.
Is NorthRail above board? How much was spent for what
purpose? What is the total project cost? Could the government have saved money
if it hired another contractor?
These questions must be answered.
The pot calls the kettle black
The case of former Speaker Jose V. de Venecia denouncing the
excesses of the government he served for seven years is a case of the pot
calling the kettle black.
Honorable men – there are very few among politicians – would
have denounced the abuses of the Arroyo administration even before JDV was
"elected" speaker by Malacanang.
He kept his peace this long or until he was "fired." Now he
is beginning to talk.
That should be music to the Opposition.
The unfortunate part is JDV himself may have some
accountabilities to the public, the same way the Arroyo administration has.
JDV and Malacañang cooperated wholeheartedly with each
another when doing so was mutually beneficial.
Then the Palace lowered the boom and threw him out.
As if in revenge, JDV has begun attacking the administration.
This is the pot calling the kettle black.
JDV and the First Family will feast on each other. Innocent
people can get hurt. Neither of them would care. This is a war of total
destruction.
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