BY WENDELL VIGILIA

NEWLY installed House Speaker Prospero Nograles yesterday vowed Congress would remain independent from Malacañang as he said he does not owe to the Arroyos his position in Congress.

"We took a vote. The Arroyos (Rep. Mikey Arroyo of Pampanga, his brother Dato of Camarines Sur and their uncle Ignacio of Negros Occidental) have only three votes," Nograles said after taking his oath from Rep. Pablo Garcia (Kampi, Cebu) at about 1:20 a.m. Tuesday.

Nograles, chairman of the 12-man House contingent to the Commission on Appointments and majority leader in the previous 13th Congress, said "we (Congress and Malacañang) have always maintained the separation of powers."

Nograles also denied claims that money from Malacañang catapulted him to power.

An administration congressman has said that those who signed the manifesto of no-confidence on Jose de Venecia Jr. were rewarded P1 million in cash and another P10 million worth of Special Road Support Fund sourced from the road user’s tax.

He said this took place during the meeting of the Kabalikat ng Malayang Pilipino (Kampi) at the La Vista, Quezon city residence of Pampanga Rep. Mikey Arroyo Sunday night.

Nograles said democracy was exercised during the plenary voting Monday night.

In his acceptance speech, Nograles appealed to his colleagues to "respect the vote we’ve taken today."

He said the "controversial" issues should be discussed "at the proper time, not here, not now."

"Now that the issue is probably settled, it’s time to get back to work," Nograles said with his wife Rhodora and children beside him.

The new speaker thanked all congressmen, especially De Venecia, for nominating him and giving him their confidence. "It’s God’s will. Maybe it’s my destiny."

Nograles vowed to restore accountability in the House.

"The number one complaint of congressmen is the lack of transparency in the use of House funds and I will make sure that this will change," he said.

A "transition group" is being formed to facilitate a smooth transfer of power, Nograles said, adding there would be minor changes in the committee chairmanships.

De Venecia, in an interview, said going back to being an ordinary congressman has given him a needed break.

"I’m very relieved. I’m freed from anxieties, worries," he said as he recalled how hard it was to do a balancing act as leader of the chamber.

De Venecia backtracked on his threat to join the opposition, saying he is still the president of the ruling party Lakas-CMD. "I serve at the will of the members."

The five-time Speaker has said that if need be, he would join the opposition in exposing the shenanigans in the Arroyo government but would also side with the administration whenever he feels it is justified.

"I don’t want to make statements that would be unfair to the President," he said when asked to shed light on his claim that he has the goods on the massive cheating in 2004.

"When the time comes, we’ll share this with the public," he said.

De Venecia, in a privilege speech before the nominal voting Monday night, accused the President and her family of being involved in irregularities.

FAILURE OF LEADERSHIP

Deputy presidential spokesman Anthony Golez said the political wrangling at the House stemmed from De Venecia’s "failure of leadership."

"We wonder why he would move his argument to the President when in fact he is having problems with his colleagues…Why all the bickering now when members of his flock were starting to lose his trust and confidence?" he added.

Press Secretary Ignacio Bunye said he believes that Nograles would be listening to the sentiments of the House members, including the call for reforms of some first-time congressmen.

He said it is now time to move on and observe a "cooling off period" to give everyone time to digest and accept what happened.

Bunye said De Venecia and Arroyo might eventually talk and meet in the future but that would have to wait. – With Jocelyn Montemayor