Northrail ghost keeps JDV from backing impeach rap – lawmaker

MANILA, Philippines — Former Speaker Jose de Venecia didn’t endorse the impeachment complaint his son Jose III filed against President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo because he is afraid that the ghost of the allegedly anomalous Northrail project may haunt him, an opposition lawmaker said on Saturday. Nonetheless, Maguindanao Rep. Didagen Dilangalen said there’s no point in supporting the impeachment complaint since “it is full of rehashed items" and it could suffer the same fate those files in the past three years ago. “There’s nothing new to it," said Dilangalen, a member of the minority bloc and key ally of pardoned plunder convict and ousted president Joseph Estrada. The younger de Venecia and some activist groups filed the impeachment complaint, alleging that Mrs. Arroyo was liable for betrayal of public trust, culpable violation of the constitution, bribery and graft and corruption. The Northrail project was made an integral part of the complaint, which the ZTE whistleblower filed, along with Iloilo Vice Governor Rolex Suplico, UP law professor Harry Roque, Editha Burgos (mother of missing activist Jonas Burgos) and several others. Other grounds were human rights violations, the bungled $329 million ZTE scandal, the P728 million fertilizer scam, the ZTE-tainted Mt. Diwalwal project, the P500,000 bribery to congressmen and the alleged electoral fraud in the May 2004 presidential elections. “Kasama diyan (sa complaint) iyung NorthRail of which he (JDV) was in charge of syndicating the loan. Iyun nga ang problema niyang malaki baka mag-boomerang (sa kanya)," Dilangalen said, noting that the complaint did not “pin down the President" on the illegal acts attributed to her. “Mahihirapan. even JDV, the father of Joey de Venecia hindi nga inindorse ‘yan e. It may have doomed it," he said. Jose De Venecia, who represents the 4th district of Pangasinan, said he was not joining “out of delicadeza (propriety)". “I'm not prejudging the complaint but you cannot just blame the President for everything that is happening in the country," he said. While he is entertaining doubts on the complaint, Dilangalen was forceful in reiterating his opposition credentials. “I'm still with the opposition. That is why I would like the impeachment complaint to follow the constitutional processes. Let it be taken up before the committee on justice. And whatever vote the majority takes, then we must follow it," he said. But if the four-term lawmaker – who earned the moniker “Mr. Shut Up" - would have his way, it would be better if the nation's “concentration us on the economy, what with the credit crunch affecting the whole world." “Everywhere in the world ang problema ay economiya, energy, health care iyan ang mga dapat bigyan ng pansin. Ang kailangan ngayon ay self-examination. Tama ba ang ginagawa natin o namumulitika lang tayo?" he asked. House Minority Leader Ronaldo Zamora expressed dismay earlier about the lukewarm attitude of the ousted Speaker with regard to the impeachment complaint. “How can we ask others to support it when you are not even helping your own son?" he told de Venecia. “He was not even non-committal. He refused. I have so many witnesses here," he told reporters, pointing to South Cotabato Rep. Darlene Antonino-Custodio as one of the witnesses. “Nakakahiya daw," was the phrase used by Custodio, quoting the former House leader. The rest of the 30-member opposition bloc found the reasoning too flimsy. But Zamora pointed out this is not the first time that a father-and-son was involved in impeaching President Arroyo, citing as example the case of former Vice President Teofisto Guingona, where his son and namesake, Teofisto III, endorsed the complaint in 2006. “In Guingona’s case, TG (son’s nickname) was the first to endorse the complaint," he told newsmen. Nevertheless, they are still hoping that they could convince the elder de Venecia to help, since he could muster around 50 votes that could add to their 30 members. - GMANews.TV