While viewed as a traditional politician at the height of his career, jailed National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) consultants kindly remember former House of Representatives (HOR) Speaker Jose De Venecia who passed away on Tuesday.
Political prisoners Vicente Ladlad and Adelberto Silva cited de Venecia’s role in the peace talks between themselves and the Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GRP), saying the veteran politician significantly contributed to the process.
De Venecia’ family said he died of coronary thrombosis. He was 89.
The consultants said de Venecia’s constructive role in the peace process in the late 1990s to the early 2000s “underscores the value of dialogue and negotiation in resolving the armed conflict—an approach that remains key to a meaningful and sustainable peace process in the Philippines.”
De Venecia, multi-term Pangasinan second and fourth district representative, was speaker of the House from 1992 to 1998 and from 2001 to 2008.
As speaker, he formed the HOR’s first “super majority” post Marcos Sr. era. He was also the head of the Lakas-CMD Party, then the country’s dominant political party.
He was a presidential candidate in the 1998 national elections but lost to Joseph Estrada.
Ladlad and Silva said that while they recognize De Venecia’s “contentious” political legacy, his participation in the peace process helped in the signing of the Comprehensive Agreement on Respect for Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law (CAHRHIL).
According to the consultants, De Venecia joined the GRP panel that, together with the NDFP panel, “jointly crafted and approved” the agreement.
They described CAHRHIL as “a good agreement” that could have guided the conduct of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, the Philippine National Police, and the New People’s Army amid the continuing armed conflict.
The consultants added that de Venecia acted as an emissary in confidence-building measures, including efforts that led to the release of captured government personnel in early 1998.
He also served as President Fidel V. Ramos’s emissary to other belligerent forces in the Philippines such as the Moro National Liberation Front and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front in the 1990s. He also traveled abroad to advance dialogue with reported MNLF supporter and Libyan leader Moammar Qadafi.
They said, “He secured the release of a police officer and a non-commissioned officer of the Philippine Army captured by a New People’s Army unit in Rodriguez, Rizal, and personally went to the mountains of Tanay, Rizal for the handover through representatives of the International Committee of the Red Cross.”
The releases of prisoners of war were described as goodwill measures linked to the resumption of formal peace talks.
They further noted: “The 1990s marked a watershed in the Philippine peace process, with landmark agreements such as The Hague Joint Declaration, the Joint Agreement on Safety and Immunity Guarantees (JASIG), and CAHRHIL reflecting sustained efforts to pursue negotiated political solutions—agreements that remain vital frameworks for dialogue and whose dismantling undermines the quest for enduring peace in the country.”
Ladlad and Silva are currently held at Camp Bagong Diwa in Taguig City. # (Raymund B. Villanueva)
