For whom the bell tolls

Do not ask for whom the bell tolls. It tolls for House Speaker Jose de Venecia. There are even speculations that the tolling may have stopped already before this week is over, even if Malacañang spokespersons are falling all over themselves denying that the President herself is behind the ouster move aimed at one of her most loyal supporters and long-time political partner.

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But it is quite confusing when some media sources report with what seems to be infallible authority that the moves to get rid of JdV is being initiated by the President's own sons. If the reports also say that the sons have the go-signal from their father, that would be believable. In fact, we already know that it has the support of the uncle. In a text message yesterday, Congressman Iggy Arroyo, who is still abroad, declared that he was ready to sign any petition for the removal of De Venecia.

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Well. Politics, it has been said over and over, is addition. The one who first coined that did not realize that it could also be multiplication, and certainly could be division. In the case of De Venecia, who had seemed so immovable from his perch in the House of Representatives a few months ago, it seems to be subtraction. And what troubles he is now facing can be traced to the revelations of his son, Joey, who could not accept being struck out of the very delicious ZTE Broadband transaction.

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So it has now come to be a family affair, with the sons making trouble or taking up the cudgels for their elders. But it is surprising to hear about the numbers supposedly backing the move to oust Speaker de Venecia. Even when his son, Joey, was talking his lungs out disclosing the alleged corruption accompanying the broadband affair, there didn't seem any indication that his long-time colleagues in the House would abandon him. They seemed to know how well he took care of them all as their leader. So what led to the charge of heart?

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I may be off-tangent, but I have this sneaking suspicion that it could have been his pronouncements while the Senate was probing the deal with China and his son was zeroing in on some untouchable people. Suddenly, JdV seemed to have “gotten religion” and began to talk about “reforms” in the House and a change in the behavior of its members. Remember? JdV then called for the eradication of corrupt practices, and even proposed for an accounting for all the funds they get and even the auditing of the redoubtable pork barrel! And he seemed to be very serious about it. I have the feeling that is the main reason why so many of his old reliables are repudiating him. Account for the pork barrel? Audit it? Unthinkable! For that, I can believe that majority of them would rather see him go. And there goes the reforms, and possibly, JdV, too.

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Here we have floods, in Beijing , China they have snow. World reports yesterday showed a China that was so thickly covered with snow that its hi-tech transport facilities got bogged down and people could not move from their homes or offices to get where they wanted. Government agencies had to bring out coaches to move commuters, but there doesn't seem to be enough, and even those had difficulty slushing through the hardening snow that also kept on falling. At least this is one thing we can be thankful for, that we do not experience snowfall here. God forbid. even a freak fall here would make millions of our people, especially in the countrysides, living in thatched houses, freeze to death in a day. Let's be thankful for this privilege.

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Two down, but the rest ain't giving up yet. Former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani and John Edwards have dropped out of the contest for candidacy of their parties, leaving the front runners to plod on. Meanwhile, enervated by her astounding win in Florida , Hillary Clinton's hopes for a similar result in Tuesday's Big One have been boosted. Strange, but like many others, even Americans, I had thought that Giuliani would be the man to beat, especially after his 9/11 feat. See how quickly people forget? That is one of the things one must never lose sight of if one is in politics.*

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