JDV camp tells opponents: You must be dreaming

The principal strategist of comebacking former Speaker Jose de Venecia Jr. dismissed the claims of De Venecia’s opponents yesterday that they have mustered the support of 114 members of the incoming House.

"They must be dreaming!" declared Rep. Joey Salceda (Lakas, Albay).

He said the figures floated by his candidate’s opponents have no basis and "have been bloated for media consumption."

Citing an example, he said the so-called Lakas progressive bloc, led by Palawan Rep. Vicente Sandoval and his son Rep. Federico Sandoval of Malabon-Navotas, cannot claim a membership of 40.

"A majority of the more than 80 Lakas members are with us. How can they have 40?" he asked.

He added that many congressmen belonging to Deputy Speaker Carlos Padilla’s Laban ng Demokratikong Pilipino (LDP) group are supporters of De Venecia.

Padilla and Sandoval of Palawan are two of the former Speaker’s opponents. They, along with Batanes Rep. Florencio Abad, president of the Liberal Party, and representatives of four other groups, decided to unite on Thursday and field a common candidate against De Venecia.

The decision came a day after the Nationalist People’s Coalition (NPC) voted to open talks with the De Venecia camp on a possible partnership.

Unlike other political groups, NPC is a solid bloc, much like the Iglesia ni Cristo. The coalition was founded by businessman Eduardo Cojuangco Jr., who continues to be its titular head and chief financier.

Salceda said talks on a Lakas-NPC "marriage" are already in the works.

"The working partnership could soon be formalized," he said.

In 1992, when De Venecia won his first term as Speaker under the Ramos administration, his Lakas group, which had fewer than 40 members, entered into a coalition with NPC, LDP and other smaller parties.

"The fight will be over once we formalize the Lakas-NPC partnership. The other side will be forced to join us or turn opposition," Salceda said.