The De Venecias in Dagupan

The weekend found us in Dagupan, Pangasinan, to visit with our good friend Gina de Venecia, who is running for a seat in the 15th Congress through the May elections. We arrived at the de Venecia residence in Barangay Bonoan Binloc, and found former Speaker Joe addressing six unannounced busloads of pilgrims from Mindanao and the Visayas making a tour of Northern Luzon. Joe was his usual self, ebullient and charming as he talked about politics and spiritual matters.

After the 500 visitors left for Manaoag, to see the Virgin Mary’s shrine, Joe had breakfast served, and personally scooped on to our plates fried rice, fried daing na bangus, scrambled eggs, halabos na hipon, longanisa and pinaksiw na Pingao (a rare fish). While we waited for Gina to emerge after a few hours’ sleep (the previous night’s rally had wound up at 4 in the morning), Joe gave us a rundown on what keeps him busy these days.

Joe is quite active in a different kind of politics. He is president of the International Conference of Asian Political Parties, which includes the Communist Party of China and the Liberal Democratic Party of Japan and the ruling and opposition parties of Korea, Malaysia, India, Kazakstan, Russia, New Zealand, Australia, Turkey, Cambodia, and Laos.

Joe said the International Conference of Asian Political Parties brings together Christians and Muslims, as well as other groups, under one roof. The meeting of minds and ideologues should end in the removal of conflicts and the winning of the peace. Joe talked about crashing down the “divides” among religious groups in different parts of the world. He gives credit to the Vatican which initiated the movement towards ecumenism in the 1960s.

Not so long ago, through arrangements made by former Ambassador to the UN Lauro Baja, he spoke before the Security Council and the General Assembly, about the necessity of promoting inter-faith dialogues.

Joe is also instrumental in the holding of the non-aligned summit held in Manila two weeks ago. This had been an offshoot of a proposal he had made in Cuba, as well as a conversation he and President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo had with UN President George Bush and State Secretary Condolezza Rice.

A major preoccupation, of course, is helping Gina run her campaign. “It’s very different for her, she helped my campaigns when I ran for Congress, then the presidency.” But Gina is no stranger to Pangasinan politics. She has been shuttling back and forth, from Makati to Dagupan.

At this point Gina came upon us, in a pink hat and blouse, and looking fresh as a daisy despite her lack of sleep. She told us she usually makes rounds early in the morning and attends rallies at night because the noonday heat in Dagupan is just too much.

Gina is running to represent the fourth district of Pangasinan, which consists of Dagupan City, Mangaldan, Manaoag, San Fabian, and San Jacinto.

 Gina tells the townsfolk about her involvements showing deep concern for women and the downtrodden. As spouse of five-time Speaker Joe, she, in partnership with the Department of Social Welfare and Development, put up the Haven for Women at 16 regional centers for women, in effect helping more than 20,000 rape victims since 1995; the Haven for Children at four regional centers for 7,000 streetchildren victimized by drug dealers; the Inang Naulila sa Anak (INA) Foundation at INA Healing Center which helped mothers who lost children to overcome their loneliness. She is to be credited for the setting up of the Women’s Desk in all police precincts in the whole country, with the cooperation of DILG Secretary Robert Barbers. After the May elections, she will launch the Haven for the Elderly in Tanay, Rizal, consisting of 20 buildings, for senior citizens abandoned by their families.

In her campaign tours and personal engagements, she speaks about her four-point program summed up in the word LOVE. This stands for livelihood, overall health care, values formation, education and environment.

She says being a mother, she knows the pains families go through in caring for their children. Which is why she wants to help them by giving free PhilHealth cards, free dental and medical mission in every barangay in the district and Dagupan City. She and her husband Joe will not stop until a hospital is built for the townsfolk.

More than 15,000 scholars have been sent by Kuya Joe and herself since 1970, Joe says, through the De Venecia scholarship program. Education is important, she emphasizes as it is the key to a good future for everyone.

She also encourages taking care of the environment through planting of trees and cleaning of rivers. A plan is to put up refugee centers where people will seek shelter in times of calamities; the centers will also be the venues for skills and livelihood training programs.

Our breakfast meeting broke up as Gina had to leave for mass in Manaoag. I recall Joe’s telling the pilgrims on the bus tour, to pray for Gina and the country when they are in the famous church.

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Another preoccupation for Joe is helping his son Joey in his bid for a senator’s seat. (Quite a job for Joe, to say the least, as he campaigns not only for Gina, but also for Joey.) Joe said if Joey is elected, he will be the only one coming from the private sector, the rest being reelectionists. He will also be the first overseas Filipino worker, having worked in Iraq and Kuwait, after his studies at Fordham University where he was a full scholar and assistant professor in accounting. He is also listed in WHO’S WHO in Year 2000, and he is the first to put up a call center in the country.

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