When PGMA deserted SJDV

Speaker Jose de Venecia went on national TV last Wednesday to do again another gesture that he never thought nor dreamed of doing. The first time was to concede defeat in the presidential polls to actor Joseph Estrada. This time, his was the difficult and embarrassing task of describing the archiving of Resolution 109, that which was to convene the constituent assembly, a “historic” moment in the House.

But those who fought off the brazen attempt by the allies of the Arroyo government to ram through a constituent assembly without the participation of the senate saw it differently. It was a humbled Speaker who tried vainly to dignify a disgraced retreat. Beneath his usual statesmanlike posture, observers could not but see in him a seething feeling of betrayal by President Arroyo.

Indeed, after that unprecedented boorish behavior of the majority congressmen on the House floor not even seen during the past two impeachment proceedings, he and his allies believed they deserved an unqualified support from Malacañang Palace to the end. After all, wasn’t it President Arroyo who pushed them to the precipice, telling them to start “the great debate on charter change”?

For President Arroyo now to declare that the charter change issue served to divide the nation, it did feel like rock salt was rubbed on the rabid congressmen’s open wounds. She used and exploited her allies and deserted them when retreat and defeat was inevitable in the hands of the people.

While Speaker de Venecia had long and patiently advocated for the shift from the presidential to the parliamentary system over the past decade, it was Mrs. Arroyo who pushed him and his ilk to do all and everything to achieve charter change under her dictate to serve her personal political agenda and survival.

If there’s anyone, therefore, who should be the first to show remorse and apologize to our people for that shameful political exercise that should be President Arroyo, no less. She owes the nation another apology (not the contrived  “Hello Garci“ type of apology) for pitting our people against each other in her “great debate”, using people’s money to stage a fake “People’s Initiative” and for directing the people’s representatives to insult the people’s intelligence by launching the blitzkrieg on the floor.

She owes Speaker de Venecia an apology for deserting him at the last moment to ensure her political survival. Some say, he deserved what happened to him, perhaps so but knowing his patient self, he wouldn’t have done it had he not been cajoled and pushed to the limit. She used him, a loyal soldier, like no other person can.

While Speaker de Venecia has shown courage and humility in the face of a humiliating defeat, people would love to see him demonstrate sincere contrition by finally deciding to stop acting like he is Mrs. Arroyo’s lapdog forever.

Our people would love to see a new Speaker Jose de Venecia without his usual win-win ideas that often lead to compromising the truth, ethics and morality in governance. There’s nothing that his fellow Pangasinenses would love more than to see the Speaker start leading the fight against a completely discredited national leadership for God’s glory and our nation’s stability.

He has time to regain a lost distinguished legacy for this province and this nation to remember and honor him by. But sadly, people won’t wait for him to lick his wounds.

He must act today.

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