JDV: ‘Am not seeking Duque, Villar ouster’

HOUSE Speaker Jose C.De Venecia, Jr. deplored as “vicious disinformation” reports in national media that he is seeking the replacement — among several other members of the President’s cabinet — of Health Secretary Francisco Duque III and Undersecretary Antonio Villar Jr., the administration’s anti-smuggling czar.

He categorically lauded the performances of Duque and Villar, the latter holding the rank of an undersecretary, both of whom are fellow Pangasinenses, and urged their retention in the Arroyo cabinet.

He said the disinformation was meant to sow dissension among Pangasinan leaders in order to split their rank and enable those behind it to push their own personal agenda

In one of his more stronger stance yet, De Venecia Jr. also expressed belief that Local Government Secretary Ronaldo Puno may have been quoted out of context when media reported him tagging the Speaker as probably source of the money given to congressmen and governors in a breakfast meeting hosted by President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo on October 11 in Malacanang.

Denying that he was in that meeting, De Venecia said in a patched phone interview over Bombo Radyo Dagupan that this was the most stupid statement ever to have been made in the raging controversy.

“If I will distribute such big amount of money, why will I do it in Malacañang?,” de Venecia asked in the Pangasinan dialect, laughing.

“That’s foolish,” he said.

He said plain common sense will show that he cannot bring to Malacañang that big amount of money to be distributed to the 180 congressmen as well as the governors.

In answer to reports that allies of the President would next plot for his ouster as House Speaker, a fighting de Venecia retorted: “Bahala sila lahat. Labanan nila ako. Kaya kong labanan silang lahat.” . (It’s up for them. If they fight me, I can fight them all).

De Venecia maintained that if there is a strong evidence against President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, the impeachment could prosper.

As in previous interviews he granted media, he quickly added though that he believes it will be dismissed not only because there is no evidence against the President whatsoever but also because those behind the impeachment do not have the numbers.

In the absence of any evidence against President Arroyo, the impeachment complaint will be eventually dismissed by the House Committee on Justice headed by Rep. Matias Denfensor of Quezon City, he declared.

De Venecia reiterated that he was not in the breakfast meeting hosted by the President in Malcañang at 8 a.m. of October 11 but nevertheless, he went there late and when he arrived to talk to Mrs. Arroyo, the congressmen and other guests had left, except the four deputy speakers and Majority leader Prospero Nograles.

He said if there was really financial assistance given to the officials, it may have been given before he arrived.

De Venecia took the chance again in the live radio interview to call on President Arroyo to weed out corruption in the government, saying it is about time to rid the bureaucracy of corrupt officials.

He said he would like President Arroyo to follow the footsteps of former Prime Minister Lee Kwan Yew of Singapore who cleansed his country of corruption.