Eight of 10 Negros Occidental and Oriental solons were among 174 members of the House who succeeded in unseating Jose de Venecia as speaker of House at past 12 a.m. today.

Rep. Prospero Nograles ( Davao City ) assumed the post as the new speaker on nomination of de Venecia after he was ousted by a vote of 174-35 with 16 abstentions.

The six Neg. Occ. solons who voted yes to declare the speaker's seat vacant said they backed Nograles, who has roots in Negros , to become the new Speaker of the House for the good of the province.

Among the representatives from Negros Oriental Jocelyn Sy-Limkaichong (1 st District) abstained, and George Arnaiz (2 nd District) and Pryde Henry Teves (3 rd District) voted yes.

Negros Occidental Representative Alfredo Marañon III (2nd District), Jose Carlos Lacson (3 rd District), Jeffrey Ferrer (4 th District), Ignacio Arroyo (5 th District) and Genaro Alvarez (6 th district) and Monico Puentevella ( Bacolod ) backed the removal of de Venecia.

Only Rep. Julio Ledesma (Neg. Occ., 1 st district) objected to the unseating of de Venecia.

The move to oust de Venecia does not make sense, Ledesma said in defending his vote on the floor.

The question to be asked is who benefits from the move to oust de Venecia, he said.

“My negative vote is because I believe that this thing has nothing to do with the House”, and should have been tackled through other means, he said.

But Lacson said he and the rest of the Congressmen from Negros Occidental are for Nograles.

“We congressmen from Negros Occidental have decided to band together for the good of the province and our constituents,” he said.

Ferrer said he is for Nograles because it is an opportunity to have an Ilonggo as speaker of the House and that will be advantageous to Negros Occidental.

Nograles has roots in Pontevedra and La Carlota City, he is approachable and wants transparency in the House, Ferrer said.

Alvarez said he voted yes for the good of Negros Occidental and his constituents in the sixth district.

Arroyo and Marañon, both members of the president's Kabalikat ng Malayang Pilipino party, were voting according to their party's decision to go for Nograles.

Puentevella said after hearing the speech of de Venecia last night that was filled with a lot of hatred, he did not see how they could continue to work together in the House to move the country forward.

How can we progress if we continue to fight and have no peace? he asked.

The Bacolod solon said he was saddened to vote yes because de Venecia and his wife, Gina, have been his friends. He thanked the couple for all their friendship, support and love, and said his vote was not personal, it was just work, he said.

“This is a tragic night not only for Lakas but for most of us because of our friendship for speaker Joe,” he said.

Felipe Levi Gelle, Bayan Negros secretary general, urged de Venecia to continue to expose the corruption of President Gloria Arroyo and her clique.

Gelle also said Puentevella's “character of being a political butterfly is established. But more he always wants to be near to the power(s)-that-be to get more bureaucratic loot.”

Puentevella said he would not comment on Gelle's statement but pointed out that he has always been a member of Lakas since 1989. “For almost 20 years I haven't resigned yet I've been loyal to the party, that's hard to find these days,” Puentevella said.

Venecia last night said his accusations against the President in his 59-minute speech against members of her family, and close associates was a declaration of war.

“I will join the opposition to denounce corruption in this administration. I will join the battle against corruption,” he said.*CPG

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