Survivor Joe

Although his birthday is on the 26th of December, Speaker Joe de Venecia usually celebrates his birthday on the 25th. Being born more or less at the same time as Christ, perhaps, he must at times feel that he is some kind of a savior with a mission. JDV does have the knack for being a perennial optimist. Manila’s who’s-who were present at his birthday celebration last Dec. 25 and also the not-so-who’s-who. PGMA was there, and the vice president together with at least 500 other guests. A friend commented how amazed he was on how the Speaker could attract so many people with diverse interests. It was simple, I said: A lot of people find him to be a good-natured person, the quintessential politician and eternal optimist. And like everyone else, during these desperate times, people want to hear some good news about the country.

Aside from being an optimist, Joe is a survivor. Although some of his critics, quite unfairly, call him Joe de Bola; a fitting and fair nickname would be "Sunshine Joe" or "Survivor Joe". He survived his disappointment and loss to Joseph Estrada during the 1998 presidential race. His neighbors in Dasmarinas Village were obviously happy when Joe de V retired from the political scene (or so they thought) because the traffic in the subdivision eased up considerably. But Survivor Joe came back and this time with a vengeance as an unopposed congressman in his district, and eventually as House Speaker. His performance during the 9th and 10th Congress under the tenure of FVR was his crowning glory. So once again, the traffic in Dasmarinas Village has gone from bad to worse just like the streets of Metro Manila.

JDV has authored and co-authored numerous local and national bills, including legislation that covers the economy. One of his most significant achievements was the dollar remittance program he set up for OFWs in the late 60s and early 70s. Who would have thought then that this program would actually keep the country afloat during the Asian crisis? Through the years, the remittance program earned for the country more than US$ 70 billion. He also drafted other laws that aim to provide protection for OFWs and social security for domestic helpers. Today, the OFW industry continues to grow and is the single biggest dollar-earning asset of this country, which, through the years, has given the Philippines the capacity to survive one crisis after another.

His most ambitious project to date is the so-called 747 (7 percent growth rate for 7 years) which some pessimists believe is too ambitious to achieve. One of Joe’s bills – the so-called SPAVs Bill or the Special Purpose Assets Vehicles Act of 2002 (House Bill 3236) – was passed by Congress this year and might provide the answer. Once enforced, this law will be able to mobilize more than PhP267 billion in non-performing loans held by the commercial banking system and about PhP140 billion more in foreclosed real estates assets. With its companion bill – the Securitization Act (HB 4453) – both bills are expected to rake in about US$5 billion in new investments to boost the Philippine economy. With the kind of new investments that would be raised, Joe de V’s 747 may just take off.

Saddam Hussein or the Iraqi government owes Joe’s company about US$100 million in unpaid bills for construction services rendered by his company which operated in Iraq almost 20 years ago. Forever the optimist and survivor, Sunshine Joe, with the impending war in Iraq, may just be able to collect at least part of it with the help of George W.

One of Joe’s passions is to change the present presidential system to a unicameral parliamentary form of government. He truly believes the present system has not worked well for the country. He swears he is not interested in being prime minister of this country. He just happens to believe that this system will be the most appropriate and efficient form of government today because of the demographic changes that have occurred over the past decades, with 40 percent of the population living below the poverty line and with hardly any education at all. The last time we touched on this topic, I received equally distributed responses – for and against. It’s high time we seriously consider this change or, at the very least, debate on it.

Filipinos have natural survival instincts. That’s why our OFWs are very popular and in great demand abroad because they are hardworking and very flexible and can adapt to any situation. This quality to adapt to any given situation is the kind of survival instinct that we need to face the challenges come 2003. Next year is supposed to be a very difficult and critical year for this country. The prophets of doom have been predicting the country’s demise. Not quite. We will bounce back shortly after the elections of 2004.

We will survive the new year.

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And speaking of survival, MJ may not be able to get out of his predicament. As of this writing, MJ is still in Guam where FBI Agent Jim Nixon turned him over to the US Federal Marshals that are trained to follow the rules to the letter. As a rule, any fugitive en route to his destination, must be handcuffed for security reasons, and his itinerary considered as highly confidential. No one knows for sure how soon he will be arraigned. The US Justice Department is recommending no bail for the Congressman because he has resisted his extradition for the past four years and is considered a flight risk. I recall an FBI agent telling me at the time when MJ ran for congressman, "We may not get him today, we may not get him tomorrow, but we will definitely get him."

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