Running mates in the 1998 elections

Arroyo was de Venecia's running mate under the Lakas-NUCD-Kampi banner in the 1998 elections. De Venecia lost his presidential bid to Joseph Estrada, while Arroyo was elected Vice President.


Hello Garci, Arroyo impeachment

The Arroyo administration was embattled with allegations of election fraud in 2005, when the "Hello Garci" controversy broke out. The issue triggered the filing of impeachment complaints against President Arroyo in 2005 and 2006.

House Speaker de Venecia supported President Arroyo throughout the crisis. On the day the Hyatt 10 cabinet members resigned, de Venecia was seen with the President in a meeting with other officials who expressed their full support for her administration. More significantly, his party, LAKAS-CMD, delivered nearly half of the House votes that trashed the Arroyo impeachment complaints.


E-VAT

The De Venecia-led House of Representatives passed Arroyo's pet legislation, the expanded value-added tax law. De Venecia was seated beside the president when Arroyo signed into law Republic Act No. 9337 or the E-VAT Act at the Aguinaldo State Dining Room in Malacanang.


Charter change

House Speaker de Venecia was visibly pleased when President Arroyo pushed for Charter Change in her 2005 State of the Nation Address; he was seen enthusiastically applauding the President's speech, in stark contrast to Senate President Franklin Drilon's plain reaction.

In 2006, de Venecia steered the Lower House into amending its own rules which in effect would allow the House of Representatives to pursue charter change via a Constituent Assembly. Charter change moves however fizzled out in light of mass protests.


House Speakership

De Venecia's hold on the House Speakership was threatened in the opening of the 14th Congress, when 2nd District of Cebu Rep. Pablo Garcia, Sr. surfaced as a strong contender.

The Garcias of Cebu delivered the Cebu votes for President Arroyo in the 2004 elections. She garnered close to a million votes in the province, with a lead of more than 800,000 votes over closest rival Fernando Poe Jr..

Further complicating the scenario is the fact that both de Venecia and Garcia belonged to administration parties.

In the end, de Venecia was elected House Speaker for a fifth (non-consecutive) term.