Dapat na rin umanong mag-resign si House Speaker Jose de Venecia upang magkaroon ng integridad ang ginagawang imbestigasyon ng Kongreso ukol sa graft and influence peddling case na iniumang laban sa kanya sa kontrobersiyal na national broadband network (NBN) deal na kinasasangkutan ng kanyang anak na si Joey de Venecia III.
“The Speaker should quit his post or take a leave of absence while ethics case versus him is being probed,” hamon ni Nueva Ecija Rep. Eduardo Joson.
“That would lend integrity to the investigation and an honorable thing for JDV to do,” dagdag niya.
Matatandaang inamin ng kanyang anak na si Joey sa Senado ang kanyang partisipasyon sa $329 million NBN project na umano’y maliwanag na paglabag sa R.A. 3019 o anti-graft and corruption law kung saan nakasaad na ang mga kamag-anak ng Pangulo, Bise Presidente, Senate President at House Speaker ay hindi maaring pumasok sa anumang government contract.
“The graft charges versus JDV involvement and influence peddling are more serious than the bribery allegations versus Abalos, and the position of the House Speaker is higher than the Comelec chairman,” sabi ni Joson.
Maging si Camarines Sur Rep. Luis Villafuerte ay nanawagan na ring mag-resign si de Venecia dahil na rin sa pag-amin ng anak nito na involve siya sa muti-bilyong pisong broadband deal.
Si Joey ang may-ari ng Amsterdam Holdings, Inc. ang kumpanyan ibig kumopo sa NBN contract, bukod sa ZTE Corp. ng China.
“This is shameless, an apparent outright admission of guilt on the part of the young de Venecia, and the reaction of the Speaker that his son is only fighting for principle doesn’t lessen even a bit what appears to be a clear violation of the law,” pahayag pa ni Villafuerte. (Butch Quejada)