Georgina de Venecia, wife of Speaker Jose de Venecia Jr., said her husband’s victory for a fifth term at the top post of the House of Representatives is the “sweetest” because “we won the fight the hard way”.

Mrs. de Venecia said they had to go through a tough campaign for the speakership bid of her husband who finally won unopposed Monday, setting a record as speaker for an unprecedented fifth term.

Mrs. de Venecia said she kept on praying to Our Lady of Manaoag to whom the couple is known devotees, until the very last moment her husband formally took his oath as speaker again.

Speaker De Venecia was challenged by Cebu Rep. Pablo Garcia.

The election which she patiently and nervously witnessed was interrupted by long debates that lasted up to 3:00 p.m. Monday, or barely an hour before President Gloria Arroyo was to deliver her State of the Nation Address (SONA) in a joint session at the House of Representatives session hall.

“We did our best and the rest we left to God and destiny,” she said.

She recalled that in all the political fights of her husband as congressman and speaker, this was the most difficult one, starting with the congressional elections in May wherein the lone rival of De Venecia, former Dagupan Mayor Benjie Lim, put up a serious threat through intensive campaigning.

Barangay chairmen, town and city officials in the fourth congressional district of Pangasinan were present at the Batasan Pambansa hall in Quezon City to give moral support to De Venecia.–EVA

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