NPC, Lakas alliance to continue — Danding

Nationalist People’s Coalition (NPC) chairman Eduardo "Danding" Cojuangco said yesterday his party’s alliance with the ruling Lakas-Christian Muslim Democrats (Lakas-CMD) will continue and chinks in the armor of the "Sunshine Coalition" in the House of Representatives have been worked out.

"The alliance between NPC and Lakas will continue," Cojuangco told The STAR at a US Embassy chancery reception marking the 227th anniversary of US independence.

Cojuangco, chairman of food and beverage giant San Miguel Corp., also denied that he and President Arroyo forged a secret agreement on their supposed plans for the May 2004 presidential elections when they met during the 56th anniversary rites of the Philippine Air Force at Villamor Air Base in Pasay City last Wednesday.

He again refused to confirm or deny his supposed plans to run for president, saying only that he would make an announcement at the end of August or in early September.

But Cojuangco confirmed that he and the President discussed the leadership issue in the House.

"We only talked about the leadership in the House," he said of the meeting, which the Palace officially described as "very brief."

Cojuangco explained that some congressmen were unhappy with the leadership of Speaker Jose de Venecia but the kinks were already ironed out. He did not elaborate.

Several congressmen from the NPC and Lakas confirmed to The STAR that there is a growing group of desencantados (disenchanted ones) in the House with grievances that can snowball and lead to the ouster of De Venecia, although no coup is yet afoot.

The congressmen said the growing grumbling against De Venecia is mainly because of the speaker’s tight grip on the valuable political chips called pork barrel funds and De Venecia’s personnel appointments.

But De Venecia’s supporters closed ranks yesterday, issued public statements of support and challenged the supposed coup plotters to "produce 118 signatures" that would allow them to pass a vote of no confidence against De Venecia.

De Venecia is on an official mission in Europe and was not expected to return until Monday, but he has cut short his trip and is expected back tonight because his brother Gil died of a heart attack.

At the same time, the De Venecia camp thanked the President for helping strengthen alliances in the House but "the Speaker’s leadership is well-established and well-entrenched and does not need to be rescued."

Desencantados grumbling

Ilocos Norte Rep. Imee Marcos confirmed that there is a growing group of desencantados because of the delay in the release of their pork barrel funds.

"Rumors of a coup have been spreading since last year, since October or November. But it never pushed through. There is really no organized and concerted effort to go through with it," Marcos said during the weekly news forum at the Rembrandt Hotel in Quezon.

Marcos explained that the coup plans have been hindered by the difficulty of finding a replacement for De Venecia.

"No one wants to succeed him. We have been egging (Batanes Rep. Florencio) Abad and (Tarlac Rep. Gilbert) Teodoro but they are not very keen. Who will succeed is the real problem," she said.

Abad is the president of the Liberal Party, the third largest bloc in the House — with 22 congressmen as members — and one of the eight parties in the Sunshine Coalition. He could not be reached for comment.

Teodoro was former president and is the de facto whip of the NPC’s 65-member bloc in the House. He also could not be reached for comment.

The largest bloc in the 230-member House is De Venecia’s own 100-strong Lakas-CMD but 60 Lakas congressmen recently signed a resolution pushing Cojuangco’s presidential candidacy next year.

Lakas member and Valenzuela City Rep. Magtanggol Gunigundo III admitted that the continued failure of the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) to release the congressmen’s pork barrel funds is fueling the lawmakers’ dissatisfaction.

"There is really rampant dissatisfaction because of the delay in the release of money for public works nationwide, amounting to P10 billion," Gunigundo said.

Gunigundo said congressmen are hoping that the funds would be released in time for Mrs. Arroyo’s State of the Nation Address at the opening of the 12th Congress’ third and last regular session.

‘Leave our boys alone’

Congressional sources told The STAR that aside from pork barrel funds, some NPC congressmen are dismayed by De Venecia’s management style.

In one instance, one source said, De Venecia allegedly worked for the removal of the Central Luzon director of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) and had him replaced by his protégé.

The NPC lawmakers in the region were slighted over the move as the former director was reported to be more honest and hardworking than his successor.

"Some NPC congressmen, I think the younger ones, felt bad over the incident," an NPC lawmaker told The STAR.

But De Venecia’s allies united yesterday and affirmed their "unconditional support" for him and insisted there is "no crisis in the House and its leadership."

House Majority Leader Neptali Gonzales II, one of those allegedly being tapped to replace De Venecia, laughed off the rumored coup.

"That is not true. There is no such thing against Speaker De Venecia," said Gonzales. "Congress is in sine die adjournment and congressmen are busy attending to their respective district concerns, realizing that it is less than a year before the next scheduled elections."

"I am sure they have no time to discuss matters that will shake up the House leadership," Gonzales added.

He said De Venecia and Cojuangco agreed during a meeting in California just two weeks ago to "preserve and maintain" the Sunshine Coalition.

The meeting between Mrs. Arroyo and Cojuangco "has now enhanced and strengthened the partnership and coalition so that it can vigorously push for greater economic and social reforms in Congress," said Rep. Rodolfo Albano, echoing the sentiments of coalition leaders.

"We appreciate Malacañang moving to strengthen the coalition between Lakas-CMD and the NPC, but the Speaker’s leadership is well-established and well-entrenched and does not need to be rescued," Albano said.

The Sunshine Coalition gave De Venecia an overwhelming mandate in electing him Speaker – his third stint since 1992 at the opening of the 12th Congress in July 2001.

Nueva Ecija Rep. Aurelio Umali, declaring De Venecia enjoys overwhelming support in the chamber, challenged anyone to "produce 118 signatures from among House members and he can walk away with the speakership."

Deputy Majority Leader Francis Escudero, a senior NPC leader in the House, earlier told a radio interview the coalition between Lakas and NPC is "intact" and reaffirmed the party‘s full support for De Venecia.

"If there is any such threat against the Speaker, the NPC will not be a part of it," Escudero told the radio interview. "We in the NPC vote as one block, and we never discussed withdrawing support from the Speaker and moving away from the coalition."

Deputy Speaker Raul Gonzalez reiterated that Congress is not in session and any coup against the Speaker can not be carried out.

This sentiment ran high among top coalition leaders and members from Luzon, the Visayas and Mindanao who praised De Venecia’s reform-minded leadership and the economic and social reforms he has initiated, De Venecia’s camp said in a statement.

Statements of support poured in from Representatives Robert Ace Barbers, Enrico Echeverri, Edmund Reyes, Juan Miguel Zubiri, Conrado Estrella, Generoso Tulagan, Tomas Dumpit, Joey Salceda, Frank Perez, Prospero Pichay, Prospero Nograles, Ruben Torres and Eduardo Zialcita. - With Marichu Villanueva, Lito Salatan