Nalzaro: Same dog, different collar

By Bobby Nalzaro
Saksi

THEY say that in politics, ‘there is no permanent friends and enemies, only permanent interests’. A veteran and traditional politician at that, erswhile House Speaker Jose De Venecia never had this thought in mind until he was ousted by his colleagues and partymates in the House of Representatives. Veteran political pundits described De Venecia’s fall from parliamentary power as the most humiliating situation in the century-old Philippine Congress. This only shows no one is indespensible even the high and mighty. Well, history would tell us that even Presidents and Prime Ministers who wield vast and awesome powers can be ousted. How much more a Speaker in the House. But that episode in JDV’s political career was particularly painful because he held the position for five terms, making him the longest serving House Speaker in the history of Philippine Legislature. There were changes in the leadership of both chambers—House and Senate—in the past. But JDV’s fate was the most ‘gruesome political assassination’, as political experts described it, because it was masterminded by Malacañang with the participation of the majority of his partymates in the Lakas-Christian-Muslim Democrats (Lakas-CMD). Of the 174 who voted to declare the position of the Speaker vacant, 56 were from Lakas, 42 from Kampi, President Arroyo’s party, 19 from the Liberal Party, 3 from the Laban ng Demokratikong Pilipino (LDP), 7 from the Nacionalista Party and 24 from the Nationalist People’s Coalition (NPC) of businessman Danding Cojuangco. Only 35 defended JDV including 21 from Lakas while 16 abstained. Poor JDV. Because of his removal and for denouncing the Arroyo administration he may also end up losing his Presidency in Lakas CMD, a political party which he co-founded. The problem with JDV was that he was over-confident and too trusting to his peers in the House thinking that nobody could get the position from him because he enjoyed the support and backing up of Pres. Arroyo, whom he had helped a lot. JDV got GMA as his runningmate in 1998 presidential elections. He was instrumental in dismissing the impeachment complaints filed against her in the House, and he stood by her side during those tumultous period when her administration was rocked by a series of military adventurism and withdrawal of support by some members of her cabinet over the Hello Garci controversy. The JDV experience only proved that political gratitude and party affiliations can be set aside anytime over personal interests and political survival. Now, since the other sentiment of some House members especially the neophytes is reform, can Speaker Prospero Nograles institute and effect changes in the House? I doubt it. If they were crying for reforms, how come that he is not reorganizing the committee chairmanships? It’s already one week since he assumed the speakership. Nograles assured his peers and the public that he will not be a puppet of Malacañang and assert the independence of the House. Again, I doubt if that will happen. Saying something and doing it are two different things. In the past, all Speakers were allied with Malacañang. Nicanor Yniguez of the old Batasang Pambansa to Pres. Marcos, Ramon Mitra to Pres. Cory Aquino, JDV to Pres. Pres. Ramos and Manny Villar to Pres. Estrada and again JDV to GMA until the fall out the other week. If Nograles will do what he said, I am afraid he will suffer the same fate as JDV’s. Like JDV, he will also become a lapdog of this administration. The change in the speakership was a classic case of the old saying, ‘the same dog, different collar’.