8 of 12 administration bets in Senate race will come from House — JDV

Although the government is not yet bent on making public its senatorial candidates for the May 2007 midterm elections, Speaker Jose de Venecia disclosed yesterday that eight of the 12-man slate will come from the House of Representatives.

"As a fallback position, we are quietly working out on a senatorial slate," he told Congress reporters in a news conference.

He said most of the senatorial aspirants in the administration ticket are congressmen, but refused to name them.

The Speaker clarified that in line with their plan to amend the 1987 Constitution by way of people’s initiative or constituent assembly, they are holding off the announcement of such a senatorial list until after all the Charter change avenues have been totally shut.

"(The elections are) still on track unless the parliamentary system comes into place. We don’t want to create a ticket (yet). We are discouraging it. It’s easy for us to construct a slate, but our focus now is the change of our presidential system," De Venecia declared.

Previous reports indicate that some members of President Arroyo’s official family, particularly presidential chief of staff Mike Defensor and Environment Secretary Angelo Reyes, will be in the senatorial ticket.

House insiders revealed that administration congressmen who want to try their luck in the Senate include Reps. Prospero Pichay of Surigao del Sur, Robert Ace Barbers of Surigao del Norte, Luis Villafuerte of Camarines Sur, Juan Miguel Zubiri of Bukidnon, Abraham Mitra of Palawan and Prospero Nograles of Davao City.

Reliable sources likewise disclosed that former congressmen who decided to join the Cabinet will be included in the administration ticket, namely Education Secretary Jesli Lapus (former Tarlac representative), Interior Secretary Ronaldo Puno (of Antipolo City) and Budget Secretary Rolando Andaya Jr., who used to represent Camarines Sur.

Other members of the House, although on the other side of the political fence, have also been reported eyeing Senate seats, among them House Minority Leader Francis Escudero, Deputy Minority Leader Alan Peter Cayetano, Tarlac Rep. Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino III, Ilocos Norte Rep. Imee Marcos and Bayan Muna Reps. Satur Ocampo and Teddy Casino.

"As a general rule, we will have our elections. As far as I’m concerned, we will have elections next year," the Speaker assured the media, belying insinuations that most elected government officials want their term extended without spending for the campaign.