Mikey Arroyo: ‘De Venecia hiding under my mother’s skirt’
By Joel Guinto
INQUIRER.net
First Posted 17:58:00 02/01/2008
Filed Under: Congress, Conflicts (general), Politics
MANILA, Philippines -- (UPDATE) President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo's son, Pampanga Representative Juan Miguel "Mikey" Arroyo, accused House Speaker Jose de Venecia of "hiding" under her skirt.
At the same time, the President’s eldest son hinted he would defy his mother’s appeal for a “status quo” at the House of Representatives.
De Venecia, who is fighting off an ouster attempt from members of the President's Kabalikat ng Malayang Pilipino (Partner of the Free Filipinos, Kampi) party, declared on Thursday evening he still enjoys President Arroyo’s “all-out support.”
"Now that his leadership is in danger, he is hiding under my mother's skirt," Representative Arroyo said in an interview in Candaba town, Pampanga province, where the President graced the first Ibon Ebon (Birds-Eggs) Festival.
The young Arroyo said he believed that the embattled De Venecia set the meeting with the President on Thursday night.
Shortly after the meeting, De Venecia announced at a press conference that “President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo is declaring her all-out support for our leadership.”
Representative Arroyo said he would go with the majority at the House of Representatives in deciding De Venecia's fate.
"My stand remains the same. The President should not meddle in the internal affairs of the House. Anyway, my vote, one vote, should not matter," he said.
Once staunch allies, the President's ties with De Venecia reportedly soured after the speaker's son, Jose de Venecia III, linked First Gentleman Jose Miguel Arroyo to the bribery scandal surrounding the botched $329-million national broadband network (NBN) contract with China’s ZTE Corp.
In an earlier phone interview, Arroyo's deputy spokesperson, Lorelei Fajardo, confirmed De Venecia's claim that the President continues to support him.
Fajardo also said that the President considers the moves of her relatives to unseat De Venecia as a "party matter."
Aside from the Pampanga congressman, the President's other son, Camarines Sur Representative Diosdado Arroyo, and brother-in-law, Negros Occidental Representative Ignacio Arroyo, are among over 130 lawmakers who signed a manifesto declaring “loss of confidence” in De Venecia.
Last week, President Arroyo also gave orders to maintain the status quo in the House even as allies of the Speaker accused the First Gentleman and his lawmaker sons of being behind the ouster plot.
But Mikey Arroyo on Friday denied this, saying, "There is no single person or group which is behind the supposed ouster of the Speaker.”
“But we cannot hide that there are gripes. There are many issues. There are non-disclosures in the non-disbursements of funds in the House. There is the non-deliverance of promises concerning reforms and there's the issue of disloyalty," he said.
He admitted harboring ill feelings towards De Venecia III, a losing bidder in the the broadband deal.
"Joey de Venecia has continued to hit our family without the benefit or semblance of any proof. Maybe [because of] his background on drugs; maybe he's hallucinating again," he said.
"The question is when Joey de Venecia talks, he does not present any proof. I would like to present another issue: What business does he have, as the Speaker's son, in government contracts? And what business does his father have for encouraging him?"
"This is one of the gripes of Congress," Arroyo said.
Asked if his father, who supposedly ordered the Speaker's son to "back off" the deal, was angry at the De Venecias, Mikey said: "I cannot answer that. I'm not my father's spokesperson."
On Thursday, De Venecia said he and his wife Gina had talked to his son to refrain from making further statements against the First Family “in order not to exacerbate the ties with Malacañang.” With a report from Tonette Orejas, Philippine Daily Inquirer
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