De Venecia III officially joins Erap's PMP

DAGUPAN, Pangasinan , Philippines – Jose de Venecia III officially joined the Puwersa ng Masang Pilipino (PMP) the other day after turning down earlier offers to join other opposition parties.

De Venecia III took his oath as a member of the party founded by President Joseph Estrada, who remains the party’s titular head and candidate for president in the May 2010 elections. “I joined this party because I believe in its pro-poor programs,” the son and namesake of former Speaker Jose de Venecia Jr. said. The former speaker could not join the oath-taking of his son because he is down with flu.

Although Estrada defeated his father in the 1998 elections, the young De Venecia said he had always felt welcomed by the former president. “He treats me like one of his sons,” the ZTE national broadband network whistle-blower said.

Private citizen and political neophyte Joey de Venecia has never run or been appointed to any government position. He will be part of the PMP’s heavyweight senatorial lineup which will include reelectionist Senators Jinggoy Estrada, Juan Ponce-Enrile and Miriam Defensor-Santiago, among others.

Recent surveys show De Venecia III to be a probable winner in the Senate race, with the opposition expected to swamp the administration bets.      – Jun Elias