'FG heads midnight Cabinet'

By Marichu Villanueva
Thursday, February 21, 2008

He's just an "ordinary lawyer" who does not meddle in affairs of government, according to First Gentleman Jose Miguel Arroyo.

But Gina de Venecia, who until recently was a close ally of President Arroyo, said yesterday that the controversial First Gentleman in fact presides over a "midnight Cabinet" that is deeply involved in affairs of state.

The wife of Pangasinan Rep. Jose de Venecia Jr. has come out swinging against the administration since his Palace-backed ouster as House speaker.

In separate interviews with The STAR and GMA-7/dzBB yesterday, Mrs. De Venecia said acting Commission on Higher Education Chairman Romulo Neri also described President Arroyo to her as "evil."

Mrs. De Venecia joined the chorus demanding the resignation of President Arroyo, saying this would "cut off the head and not just the tentacles" of corruption.

"She is the head of corruption in the government," De Venecia said.

Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita dared De Venecia to prove her claims. "It's one thing to say something and another to prove with evidence in other fora," he said.

De Venecia claimed that the midnight Cabinet is composed of businessmen-cronies and "alter-egos" of President Arroyo including Department of the Interior and Local Government Secretary Ronaldo Puno who is concurrently her presidential political adviser, Department of Transportation and Communications Secretary Leandro Mendoza, Pagcor chairman Ephraim Genuino, and Manila Economic and Cultural Office director Tomas Alcantara.

She said the midnight Cabinet includes "oligarchs" like port operator Enrique Razon.

Mrs. De Venecia said members of this midnight Cabinet have been helping the President weather one crisis after another.

Mrs. De Venecia traced the roots of the midnight Cabinet to attempts at political troubleshooting by its members shortly after the outbreak of the "Hello, Garci" scandal.

"These people held her (President) by the neck because she was greatly indebted to them who helped her in the 'Hello, Garci' scandal," she pointed out. "But she (President) could not control them anymore."

Mrs. De Venecia echoed the same criticisms reportedly voiced by Commission on Higher Education Romulo Neri against these oligarchs, who she said became very influential in government because the President paid back her deep indebtedness to them by allowing them to corner juicy contracts in government. She added Neri had also described Mrs. Arroyo to her as "evil."

"The problem is the oligarchs. That's why we have all this corruption in government," she charged.

Mrs. De Venecia first publicly aired these accusations over the DzBB radio program of news anchors Arnold Clavio and Orly Trinidad yesterday.

Mrs. De Venecia recalled that President Arroyo used to heed her advice like when she decided to send abroad her husband at the height of the 'Hello, Garci' scandal.

"But when he (First Gentleman) returned afterwards when things cooled down, he came back with a vengeance," Mrs. De Venecia said.

As an old friend, she lamented that President Arroyo refused to listen to her advice and feedback she gave her about the growing perception of widespread corruption in the government that goes all the way to the Palace.

"I was just a friend but she (President) sleeps with her husband. So she listens to him," Mrs. De Venecia pointed out.

But the crisis over the NBN-ZTE deal might spell the end for Mrs. Arroyo, considering the damaging Senate testimony of Rodolfo Lozada Jr.

Joey de Venecia testified at the Senate hearing last year that the First Gentleman allegedly confronted him to "back off" from the NBN project in a meeting at Wack Wack Golf and Country Club after former Commission on Elections chairman Benjamin Abalos complained about his getting into the NBN-ZTE deal. Joey claimed that the First Gentleman supposedly demanded a $70-million commission from the NBN-ZTE contract.

The young De Venecia tagged Razon as having replaced the First Gentleman in April last year when the latter got seriously ill and had to undergo surgery.

De Venecia's testimony against the alleged involvement of the First Gentleman in the NBN-ZTE deal was corroborated by Lozada who testified last week that Abalos talked to the President's husband over a cell phone about pushing for the NBN-ZTE deal under a Chinese government-funded loan instead of the build-operate-transfer (BOT) contract that De Venecia III's company offered but was rejected by the government.