My father and I haven't reconciled with GMA - Joey de V

DAGUPAN CITY , Philippines  – Senatorial bet Jose de Venecia III yesterday said he and his father and namesake, former Speaker Jose de Venecia Jr., have not reconciled with President Arroyo since he exposed the alleged anomaly in the national broadband network (NBN) deal with China’s ZTE Corp. 

“On the record, my father has not reconciled with GMA. Ako, I cannot reconcile with GMA because we have to hold them accountable,” the young De Venecia, who is running under the Partido ng Masang Pilipino, told local newsmen here.

If the court decides that Mrs. Arroyo and her husband, Miguel Arroyo, did not commit any anomaly, he said, “Then I would accept it.”

But right now, he said there is none yet and the case has not even reached the court.

He added that it’s a good thing that the Senate had released its recommendations on the case that the Ombudsman would take into consideration.

De Venecia said the decision of his stepmother, Gina de Venecia, to reconcile with Mrs. Arroyo was a personal decision. 

He said his stepmother strongly supported him in her NBN-ZTE exposé, making him very much indebted to her.

He said she is a friend of Mrs. Arroyo and since she lost her daughter KC, his half-sister, in a fire, perhaps it would have been better for her to free herself of any animosities. 

“It’s the person, not the enemy,” he said, adding that he respects his stepmother’s decision.

“For sure, they will be together in Congress in 2010. Good thing they are not seatmates,” he said in Filipino.

Mrs. De Venecia is running for congresswoman in her husband’s Pangasinan district, while Mrs. Arroyo is eyeing a congressional seat, too, in her hometown in Pampanga.

The young De Venecia said he is confident that his stepmother’s move to reconcile with Mrs. Arroyo will not affect his candidacy for senator, adding that people know him to be independent from his family. 

“I mean that’s a fact. My being a whistle-blower caused my father’s job (as speaker),” he said.

Allegations of corruption hounded the $329-million NBN-ZTE deal. Mrs. Arroyo cancelled the project after the alleged scandal was exposed.