Doing a Julius Caesar

After a whopping five terms of office as Speaker of the House, it looks like Jose de Venecia's world is now crumbling around him. His own colleagues in Congress are doing a Julius Caesar on him, and the main antagonist in this comedy -- er -- political upheaval is the same man he literally groomed himself to become a formidable personality in the Administration: the honorable gentleman from Davao, Prospero Nograles.

After several attempts in the past to unseat him, Joe de V managed to stand his ground. After all, there was always Malacañang to back him up. However, with his own flesh and blood bringing out into the open the controversial ZTE contract anomalies said to be perpetrated by Malacañang henchmen, JDV's grave was suddenly dug. The old man is now being made to pay for the alleged "sins" of his son toward the powers that be.

And what impeccable timing these power-hungry leeches in Congress have! Finding that Achilles' Heel in JDV's political persona that was once protected by none other than the President herself, these "honorable gentlemen of the House" -- as they call themselves -- are now preparing for a political massacre of one of the longest-standing figures in recent Philippine politics.

Don't get me wrong: I'm not exactly a JDV fan. In fact, I'm not a fan of these "honorable gentlemen" who barely get anything done, and instead waste time, taxpayers' money, and their respective pork barrels on grandstanding and other whatnots. I should know: look what happened to our former congresswoman. Well, in her defense, she never did any grandstanding. In fact, she didn't do anything at all that would prove to be beneficial for her constituents in the Leyte province.

This recent skirmish in the House of Representatives only goes to show several things: first, that when blood relatives squeal on Malacañang, one should be ready for the death of his/her political dynasty. Second, that there are no permanent allies in politics -- only permanent interests.

I believe that Nograles and his allies do have the numbers to finally topple JDV. But considering this man's trapo nature, it's just going to be a case of one set of rascals being replaced by another set of rascals. Let's just see how much of a Malacañang lapdog he's going to be.

If the issue on charter change gets revived for the nth time in the House of Representatives under Nograles' term as Speaker, then my theory is proven: that Nograles has been bestowed with the all-mighty Malacañang shield of power.

And why not? 2010 is just around the corner.

As for JDV, well...there's always golf to come back to.