JDV

On Aug. 26, 2024, the Senate of the Philippines did something monumental, if not unusual. The 24-member chamber unanimously paid tribute to five-term speaker of the House of Representatives Jose de Venecia Jr.

In sponsoring Resolution 1142, Sen. Loren Legarda called JDV “a towering figure in Philippine politics and governance. Hailing from Dagupan City, JDV’s journey in public service is marked by steadfast dedication, results-driven leadership and a relentless pursuit of peace and lasting progress…a stalwart of legislative leadership and political acumen.”

“JDV’s coalition-building efforts during the post-Martial Law era were instrumental in promoting unity and stability. Economic, political and social reform laws were passed under his stewardship during president Fidel V. Ramos’ administration, laying the groundwork for the country’s growth. It is worth noting that, if I may, my own political journey began under the guidance of JDV,” the famous broadcaster turned legislator added.

In November 2019, at its 18th anniversary, the business weekly BizNewsAsia honored JDV with a “Visionary Public Service Excellence Award.” He is the epitome of the Global Filipino.

My good friend Joe turns 88 this year (he was born after Christmas Day). So his saga encompasses more than eight decades.

I like JDV and feel close to him because he began his professional life as a newsman. He went on to become an excellent diplomat, a pioneering labor exporter to the Middle East and North Africa (which opened jobs for millions), our very own first billionaire oil baron with his Basic Petroleum and Landoil Resources and a statesman of great vision and excellent execution.

As the longest-serving postwar speaker, JDV was a visionary legislator, authoring many of the greatest pieces of political, social and economic legislation of his time. He held the notion that any major problem could be solved by legislation. That practice is still in vogue.

To me, the biggest contributions JDV has to nation-building are two: 1) he conceived and implemented the remittance program for overseas Filipino workers (OFWs), today numbering 12 million in over 130 countries, from Algeria to Zimbabwe, with the biggest share, 40 percent, coming from the US; and two, peacebuilding.

After centuries of conflicts, if the country has not been torn asunder, credit should go to JDV in many ways.

The OFW remittances dramatically enrich the Bangko Sentral foreign exchange reserves, killed the once rampant black market and financed the economy and countless homes for Filipino overseas worker families nationwide. The program became a model for many Third World countries.

In the past four years alone, remittances totaled over $128 billion, four times the foreign direct investments during the same period. The $128 billion is 100 percent value added, unlike FDIs for which the government absorbs costs in the form tax incentives, concessions and even land grants. Also, the $128 billion could pay for the entire $128-billion foreign debts of the Philippines. One of every three households in the Philippines has an OFW. Were it not for the remittances, the Philippines would be in deep s**t today.

As an inveterate peacemaker, JDV has no peers. He has this unbridled optimism in the goodness of man and nations, and an unceasing passion in his diplomacy to find pathways to compromise to nagging age-old problems, like territorial disputes and extended rebellions.

He proposed joint exploration by claimant nations in the South China Sea. He also conceived a “Third Route” to complement China’s great “Belt-and-Road” initiative.

JDV negotiated ceasefire with the RAM-YOU rebel leaders Col. Gregorio Honasan, then in the underground, General Abenina, Commodore Calahate, both in prison, which led to the final peace agreement, ending RAM’s many coup attempts; he crossed the Sahara Desert twice, with wife Gina, for peace talks with Libyan leader Moammar Gaddafi and MNLF leader Nur Misuari in North Africa, ending in the 1996 peace pact. JDV was the first Christian leader to enter the MILF mountain lair at Camp Abubakar for initial talks with MILF chair Hashim Salamat and his deputy, now MILF chairman Gen. Ebrahim Murad. He was accompanied by Deputy Speaker Simeon Datumanong. Final peace with the MILF is still pending.

A 30-year diplomat, minister and economic counselor during the Vietnam War, then based in Saigon, now Ho Chi Minh City, JDV pushed the creation of the first Philippine Helicopter Squadron and first Armalite Battalion in the AFP with his friendship with the then famed US Military Commander, Lt. Gen. Creighton Abrams, after whom the US Abrams Tank was named.

In UN speeches, JDV pushed the Christian-Muslim and Inter-faith Dialogues approved by the United Nations to reduce politico-religious tensions and conflicts in various parts of the world. This was a breakthrough because inter-religious issues were, before, taboo in the UN system. Today an Inter-Faith unit functions in the Office of the UN Secretary General.

As a Pangasinan congressman, JDV designed and authored the conversion of the US military bases Clark Field, Subic Naval Base, Camp John Hay in Baguio City, Camp Wallace in San Fernando, La Union, into free ports or special economic zones, and simultaneously converted the Filipino military camps in Fort Bonifacio and Nichols Air Base into major business cities under one classic law, a dramatically successful “game changer” for the Philippines, the Bases Conversion Law.

JDV also initiated the Asian Parliamentary Assembly (APA) and is president of the Centrist Asia Pacific Democrats International (CAPDI) and co-chairman of the International Ecological Safety Collaborative Organization (IESCO), based in New York and Beijing, and which enjoys Consultative Status in the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC).

In 1998, JDV exhausted most of his lifelong earnings for an ambitious attempt at the presidency. He lost, to Erap Para sa Mahirap, Joseph Estrada, by a wide margin.

Ever the statesman, Speaker JDV quickly proclaimed Estrada as the duly elected president.

*      *      *

Email: [email protected]