Impeachment and the pork barrel

AGAIN, the impeachment case filed last week, the fourth in this administration’s tumultuous history, will be about strength in numbers. And the body count on the side of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo in the House of Representatives remains formidable.

Whether this latest filing will prosper will be decided, as previously, by the fate of the pork barrel of the congressmen. At this point, the pork has become even more crucial as our politicians prepare for their re-election or election into a new post in the 2010 polls. Even provincial governors have staked their support against the new impeachment call.

That Jose de Venecia III, son of former House Speaker Jose de Venecia Jr. and whistleblower in the NBN-ZTE deal which dragged the President and her husband in corruption allegations, led the filing of the impeachment case, along with Iloilo Vice Governor Rolex Suplico and lawyer Harry Roque, could also very well be indicative of how the votes will be cast. It is very likely that the outcome would be no different from how Pangasinan congressmen voted the elder De Venecia out from the top post in the House, a role he has held the longest in the country’s political history. Lines have since been drawn, isolating De Venecia’s 4th district as well as the 2nd district under Rep. Victor Agbayani, former 3-term governor of the province, who voted for JDV.

Then again, the new filing also signals that the people are not backing down in the fight against the corruption and dishonesty which have marked the Arroyo leadership. Thrice rejected, the young De Venecia appears to be showing that he is not afraid to take the cudgels for a battle that is worth fighting for. The new filing sends the message that the people do not feel defeated. And there is plenty of encouraging support going around, particularly from civil society groups. Joey’s courage, which his father has promised to demonstrate as well by revealing what he himself knows but has yet to make good on, may well swing voters if he decides to make the jump into politics. That remains to be seen in 2010.

For now, it should be good enough to simply keep the fire of vigilance burning.

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