 | This articleneeds additional citations forverification. Please helpimprove this article byadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Jose de Venecia Jr." – news ·newspapers ·books ·scholar ·JSTOR(February 2026) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
Jose de Venecia Jr. | |
|---|---|
 de Venecia in 2017 | |
| 17th and 21st Speaker of the Philippine House of Representatives | |
| In office July 23, 2001 – February 5, 2008 | |
| Preceded by | Feliciano Belmonte Jr. |
| Succeeded by | Prospero Nograles |
| In office July 27, 1992 – June 30, 1998 | |
| Preceded by | Ramon Mitra Jr. |
| Succeeded by | Manny Villar |
| Member of theHouse of Representatives fromPangasinan | |
| In office June 30, 2001 – June 30, 2010 | |
| Preceded by | Benjamin Lim |
| Succeeded by | Gina de Venecia |
| Constituency | 4th district |
| In office June 30, 1987 – June 30, 1998 | |
| Preceded by | Antonio Villar Sr. |
| Succeeded by | Benjamin Lim |
| Constituency | 4th district |
| In office December 30, 1969 – September 23, 1972 | |
| Preceded by | Jack Laureano Soriano |
| Succeeded by | District abolished (next held by Antonio Bengson III) |
| Constituency | 2nd district |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1936-12-26)December 26, 1936 Dagupan, Pangasinan, Commonwealth of the Philippines |
| Died | February 10, 2026(2026-02-10) (aged 89) |
| Party | Lakas (2020–2026) |
| Other political affiliations | Independent (2008–2020) Lakas (I) (1991–2008) LDP (1988–1991) Lakas ng Bansa (1987–1988) Liberal (1969–1987) |
| Spouse(s) | Victoria Perez (divorced) Georgina Vera-Perez |
| Children | 6, includingJoey andChristopher |
| Alma mater | Ateneo de Manila University (BA) |
| Occupation | Politician |
| Profession | Journalist |
Jose Claveria de Venecia Jr. (Tagalog pronunciation:[vɛˈnɛʃa]; December 26, 1936 – February 10, 2026), also known asJDV,Joe De V orManong Joe, was a Filipino politician and journalist who served asSpeaker of theHouse of Representatives of the Philippines from 1992 to 1998 and from 2001 to 2008. A member ofLakas–CMD, he ran forpresident in the1998 election, but lost toVice PresidentJoseph Estrada, finishing second among 11 candidates.
Beginning in 1987, de Venecia was elected to six terms as a representative of the4th district ofPangasinan. He served as Speaker of the House throughout theNinth,Tenth,Twelfth andThirteenthCongresses of the Philippines. He had served for more than a year as the House Speaker of theFourteenth Congress when on February 5, 2008, 174 representatives, or a considerable majority of members of the House, voted to remove de Venecia as speaker. He was the first Filipino to hold the speakership five times in separate terms.
De Venecia was born inDagupan,Pangasinan on December 26, 1936[1] to Judge Jose R. de Venecia Sr. and Casimira Villamil Clavería. De Venecia came from an influential political family. His grandfather, Guillermo de Venecia was the municipal president (now known as mayor) from 1916 to 1918 and from 1925 to 1926. In 1947, he finished his elementary studies at the Dagupan Elementary School where he was accelerated by one year. He completed his secondary education at theDe La Salle College High School, and finished Journalism at theAteneo de Manila in 1955.[2]
As a businessman, de Venecia pioneered overseas contract work for Filipinos where he was one of the first Philippine prime contractors in the Middle East and North Africa in the mid-1970s. He hired 51,000 Filipinos for his companies and engaged in port operations inSaudi Arabia, agriculture in Africa, and mass housing and oil exploration in theUnited Arab Emirates. His Middle East initiative was followed and later led to the employment of millions of Filipinos. In the 1970s, he initiated anoil and gas exploration program that led to the first oil and gas strikes in offshorePalawan. He was elected president of the Petroleum Association of the Philippines.[3]
De Venecia's first stint in politics was in 1961, when he became a spokesperson for presidential candidateDiosdado Macapagal.[4] During the presidency ofFerdinand Marcos, De Venecia was in the diplomatic service as Minister-Economic Counselor from 1966 to 1969. He was also posted to the Philippine embassy in South Vietnam as press and economic counselor. He conceived and implemented the historic dollar-remittance program for overseas Filipino workers worldwide. He was one of the Ten Outstanding Congressmen beforemartial law in the Philippines. He ran and won as congressman of the2nd district ofPangasinan from 1969 to 1972. After the restoration of theHouse of Representatives in 1987, he ran and won as congressman of the fourth district of Pangasinan.[5]
He was one of the co-founders of theRadio Philippines Network.[6]
After Defense SecretaryFidel Ramos failed to win theLaban ng Demokratikong Pilipino (LDP) presidential nomination, Ramos recruited de Venecia to form a brand new party,Partido Lakas ng Tao. He initiated the move to unite theNational Union of Christian Democrats (NUCD), a cluster of theProgressive Party led by former Foreign Affairs SecretaryRaul Manglapus, and the Union of Muslim Democrats of the Philippines, and Lakas to make it a dominant party.
That same year, he was re-elected as congressman. Since Ramos got a low plurality in the election, De Venecia created aRainbow Coalition, converging political parties that include the LDP,NPC,Lakas–NUCD, and other minor parties to make a solid majority in the House, which made him electedSpeaker of theHouse of Representatives. He was reelected as congressman and speaker in 1995.
As Ramos' peace envoy, Speaker De Venecia reached out to insurgent groupsMoro National Liberation Front (MNLF) secessionists in Mindanao, the RAM-SFP-YOU military rebels, and theCommunist Party of the Philippines which operates theNew People's Army (NPA). He crossed Africa'sSahara Desert twice to meet theLibyan leaderMuammar al-Gaddafi andMNLF ChairmanNur Misuari and assisted in forging a peace agreement atTripoli in 1976. His persuasion of Misuari to accept autonomy led to the signing of the peace pact on September 2, 1996.
Way back in 1992, De Venecia began secret talks with leaders of the military rebels, led by Commodore Calajate, Gen. Abenina, and Col. Honasan, which led to a ceasefire in December of that year and a final peace agreement in 1995. In April 1997, De Venecia journeyed to the Netherlands to meet with self-exiled leaders of theNational Democratic Front andNew People's Army led byJose Maria Sison and Luis Jalandoni. He was the first Christian leader to enter Mindanao's Camp Abubakar mountains in November 1997 and open breakthrough peace negotiations withHashim Salamat, Chairman of theMoro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), and military Commander Murad.
In 1998, the dominant party Lakas–NUCD–UMDP held a convention to select Ramos' successor as titular president and candidate for the May 11 election. A long list of candidates was trimmed and led to a choice between De Venecia and then National Defense SecretaryRenato de Villa. Though De Villa was seen as the frontrunner, De Venecia won the convention vote and like what Ramos did in 1992, De Villa bolted from the party to form a new one calledPartido Reporma.
De Venecia garnered the second highest number of votes in a field of 11 candidates, though he was far behind the winner,Joseph Estrada. After he lost his bid, he departed from media attention and political limelight. In one of his interviews, De Venecia said that he was depressed and took several months to recover.
De Venecia reemerged onNew Year's Day of 2001 calling for asmooth transition of power to theVice President.Estrada belittled de Venecia's statements, however, the former was ousted January 20 of that year by afour-day people power uprising.
In the2001 election, he won without opposition as congressman of the 4th District ofPangasinan. He was reelected overwhelmingly by the House, and was voted by some critical left-wing partylist representatives. He formed alliance with other political parties to formSunshine Coalition. In 2003, he received an unexpected high commendation from the public when he accepted theSupreme Court ruling that junked the petition for theimpeachment of theChief JusticeHilario Davide. In the2004 election, he became instrumental inGloria Macapagal Arroyo'scampaign victory aspresident. He also won by a landslide as congressman and was reelected as speaker for the fourth time.
On July 10, 2007, De Venecia's supporters opposed secret balloting by the majority coalition to select the speaker of the House of Representatives in the Fourteenth Congress. Rep. Eduardo Zialcita of Parañaque, said the House is not a "secret society."[7] Meanwhile, Sorsogon Rep. Jose Solis accused De Venecia's son, Jose de Venecia III, of questioning a $330 million broadband connection deal between the Philippine government and Chinese firm ZTE. Solis hit De Venecia III for desiring to have his Amsterdam Holdings, Inc. (AHI) get the deal (which will connect national government agencies to local government units through the Internet and save government up to P3 billion in telephone expenses every year). Solis further claimed that AHI is a "veritable mom's-and-pop's enterprise with a reported paid-up capital of only P650,000.[8]
On July 23, 2007, 159 lawmakers picked De Venecia as House Speaker for 5th time—after the House commenced at 2:17 pm, a roll-call vote for the position. De Venecia was the lone nominee, while his opponent, Cebu Rep. Pablo Garcia, was not nominated. Iloilo Rep.Arthur Defensor Sr. was elected Majority Leader while San Juan Rep.Ronaldo Zamora was elected minority leader. The 14th Congress of the House of Representatives is composed of 240 lawmakers, 21 of whom are party-list representatives.[1][2]
On January 31, 2008,Kabalikat ng Malayang Pilipino (KAMPI) announced that 134 congressmen signed amanifesto of "loss of confidence" versus Speaker Jose de Venecia Jr.Camarines Sur's 2nd district Rep.Luis Villafuerte, KAMPI president, said the successor should beDavao City's1st district representativeProspero Nograles.[9]
During the regular session on February 4, 2008,Palawan Representative Abraham Kahlil Mitra moved that the position ofHouse Speaker be declared vacant.[10] Before the motion was submitted to a vote, De Venecia delivered a speech before the House where he criticized PresidentGloria Macapagal Arroyo and alleged that her government was behind the move to oust him from the speakership.[11] He recounted the times he had stood to defend President Arroyo, and said,"It pains me grievously to hurt the President and to hurt the First Family because I have invested so much more than any of you in this chamber to help the President become Vice President, become President…." Shortly after his remarks, de Venecia acknowledged to reporters: "I will join the opposition to denounce corruption in this administration. I will join the battle against corruption."[12]
During his speech at the House plenary, De Venecia said that three military generals visited his house. They were accompanied byRaul Lambino.
General Santos, commanding general of the Philippine Army, commander of the United Nations Forces in East Timor, came to my house accompanied by Attorney Raul Lambino, who is his friend, and who is also my friend, and he said, 'Mr. Speaker you and your son [should] keep quiet because they want to kill you and I know they can kill you and I know they have killed other people.
De Venecia's son reported the incident to the Makati police. The Speaker, meanwhile, wrote a letter to President Arroyo to ask her to do something about the threat on their lives.
My son reported this to the Makati Police and in the same day following, General Santos, such a respected general of the Armed Forces, changed his tune and said he never said such a thing. How could he say that he never said such a thing when he came to my house to ask me to listen to his story, accompanied by Raul Lambino in the presence of my son Joey, in the presence of my wifeGina.
The Speaker said he asked PresidentGloria Macapagal Arroyo in a letter to "please do something."
So I wrote a letter to President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. Dear Madam President, I write to you because General Santos came to see me and said to me, and confessed to me that they wanted to kill myself and my son and that they have killed other people. I asked you because these three generals belonged to your government, please do something. That was late October of last year. Do you think up to know Malacanang has lifted a finger to arrest or to investigate these attempts on my life and of my son?
"It's simple arrogance. Just plain arrogance that Malacañang and the people of the Palace are above the law. Someday this can happen to you," he said. The speech was delivered hours afterPalawan's 2nd district Rep.Abraham Kahlil Mitra, an ally of Davao City Rep.Prospero Nograles, moved the speaker's position be declared vacant.
Shortly after midnight, February 5, 2008, 174 members of the House voted in favor of the motion to declare the position of House Speaker as vacant, removing de Venecia from his position. 35 members voted against the motion while 16 members abstained.[13]Prospero Nograles was elected as the new House Speaker.
On March 10, 2008, De Venecia resigned his post as president ofLakas–CMD. In 2010, he travelled to the United States to speak to Filipino people who were living and working there. He mentioned that overseas workers sent overUS$18 billion home every year and said about this: "This is your contribution. You must be aware of it, you should be proud of it. This is why we call you the heroes and heroines of the Filipino people."[14]
In April 2017, De Venecia was appointed by PresidentRodrigo Duterte as Special Envoy for Inter-Cultural Dialogue. TheDepartment of Foreign Affairs said that as special envoy, De Venecia would serve to advise the administration on policies regarding cultural diversity and citizen participation under theUNESCO declaration.[15]
De Venecia joined the second incarnation ofLakas–CMD in 2020.[16]
On January 7, 2008, theSocial Weather Stations (November 30 to December 3, 2007)survey stated that Speaker Jose de Venecia's performance rating was 37% satisfied and 37% dissatisfied, or net +1, having been in single digits since December 2004.[17]
De Venecia married Victoria Perez, the daughter ofEugenio Pérez, who served as Speaker of the House of Representatives from 1946 to 1953.[18] Together, they had 4 children: Alexandra (Sandra), Leslie, Vivian, andJose III (Joey). Their marriage, ended in a divorce,[citation needed] and Perez now lives inAlbany, New York.
De Venecia then marriedGeorgina Vera-Perez, daughter of a film producer. They had two children:Christopher and Kristina Casimira (KC). Georgina, also known as Manay Gina, was previously married to construction manager Felipe Cruz with whom she had 2 children.[citation needed] The former host of a television drama series, she is currently a social worker and a radio host.
On December 17, 2004, a fire originating from Christmas tree lights gutted de Venecia's house inDasmariñas Village,Makati. His 16-year-old daughter KC died of suffocation after being trapped inside the house.[19] KC's remains were cremated and her ashes were buried at theSantuario de San Antonio chapel inMakati.
On February 10, 2026, De Venecia died at the age of 89.[20] His funeral was first held at the Heritage Memorial Park inTaguig from February 11 to 13, and then at the Annunciation of the Lord Parish in Bonuan Gueset,Dagupan from February 14 to 15. A necrological service for him was held at theBatasang Pambansa on February 16.[21]
In January 2025, SpeakerMartin Romualdez led theopening ceremony of the "Jose de Venecia Jr. Building and Museum" at theBatasang Pambansa Complex.[22]
{{cite news}}:|archive-url= is malformed: timestamp (help)CS1 maint: url-status (link)
Media related toJose de Venecia Jr. at Wikimedia Commons| House of Representatives of the Philippines | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Jack Soriano | Representative, 2nd district of Pangasinan 1969–1972 | Vacant Position abolished Title next held by Antonio Bengson III |
| Recreated Title last held by Antonio Villar Sr. | Representative, 4th district of Pangasinan 1987–1998 | Succeeded by Benjamin Lim |
| Preceded by | Speaker of the House of Representatives 1992–1998 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by Benjamin Lim | Representative, 4th district of Pangasinan 2001–2010 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Speaker of the House of Representatives 2001–2008 | Succeeded by |
| Party political offices | ||
| New political party | President of Lakas-CMD 1991–2008 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Lakas-CMD nominee forPresident of the Philippines 1998 | Succeeded by |
| Malolos Congress |
|  |
|---|---|---|
| Philippine Assembly |
| |
| House of Representatives | ||
| National Assembly | ||
| House of Representatives | ||
| Batasang Pambansa |
| |
| House of Representatives |
| |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
