HOUSE Speaker Jose de Venecia Jr. recently admitted that he is not keen on allowing his wife Georgina ‘Gina’ de Venecia to run for senator in the coming election.

In his usual Saturday chat with local newsmen, de Venecia said Malacanang and many other people and sectors are persuading his wife Gina to run for senator.

Mrs. de Venecia is being included in the administration’s senatorial ticket which, according to de Venecia, is yet to be finalized from February 5 to 11.

Saying that Mrs. de Venecia is too busy for her charitable works for disadvantaged people, the Speaker stressed that, “her inclination and my inclination is for her not to run.”

Mrs. de Venecia, a member of the family that owns the Sampaguita Pictures, is president of the Congressional Spouses Foundation, Inc. (CSFI) that set up many charitable projects for disadvantaged women and children, including grieving mothers throughout the country.

The CSFI set up The Haven which now has 15 branches and has a nationwide network that already treated so far more than 10,000 disadvantaged women throughout the Philippines.

The Speaker said his wife Gina set up another foundation for mothers who lost their children, and whose members number hundreds if not thousands all over the country.

Mrs.de Venecia set up the foundation since she too is a grieving mother after their daughter KC perished in a fire that engulfed their house in Dasmariñas Village, Makati in December 2004.

You know, even President (Fidel) Ramos asked her (Mrs. de Venecia) to run for senastor in 1992 and 1996 but she declined.,” he said.

He said Gina can do this as a private citizen, that is why she is admired, respected and appreciated because she is a private citizen doing all these things.

“The moment you start doing this as an incumbent politician, the impact would not be the same,” de Venecia continued, emphasizing however that this was only his personal opinion.

He told newsmen that since he was in politics, he always discouraged his family from running public office.