JDV ready to mediate between Erap, FVR

MANILA, Philippines – Ousted House speaker Jose de Venecia  Jr. vowed yesterday to mediate between pardoned former President Joseph Estrada and former President Fidel V. Ramos who have been “at odds” since Estrada left Malacañang on Jan. 20, 2001.

De Venecia and his wife, Gina, were given a lunch treat by Estrada in his residence on Polk Street in North Greenhills, San Juan. The lunch was also attended by party-list representatives and congressmen who either voted no or abstained declaring the House speakership position vacant that led to De Venecia’s ouster.

“I can move in that direction quietly,” De Venecia, Pangasinan congressman, said when asked if he would act as a go-between for the two former presidents to fix their differences.

De Venecia said his lunch with Estrada was more of a casual meeting.

“It was a get-together. I invited them (Estrada and his wife, ex-senator Loi Ejercito) to my house about last week. President Estrada invited us to exchange notes. I just came from (former) President Corazon Aquino’s Mass in De La Salle University,” De Venecia said.

De Venecia said that he will remain in the Lakas-Christian Muslim Democrats party, where Ramos is the titular head.

“The name of my party is Lakas-CMD (Christian Muslim Democrats). It is a centrist political party. I was recently elected as chairman of the Christian Democrat International-Asia Pacific, an international political (group of) centrist democrats. I replaced former Thailand leader Thaksin Sinawatra. I can mediate with leftist and rightist,” De Venecia said.

He added that he was reelected for third time as vice president of the CDI-International.

“They (CDI-Asia and CDI-International) are the mother party of Lakas. I want to bring the leftist and rightist to the center and create a middle force and work to expand the country’s middle forces. We will negotiate with the rightists and the leftists group,” De Venecia  said.  – Jose Rodel Clapano