The House of Representatives will pay its tribute to the late statesman Jose Claveria De Venecia Jr., its longest-serving Speaker in modern history, whose leadership was credited for shaping the institution and influencing the course of national governance.
House Speaker Faustino ‘Bojie’ Dy III will lead the ceremony on Monday with previous House Speakers expected to deliver eulogies including Leyte 1st District Rep. Martin Romualdez, businessman-politician Manuel ‘Manny’ Villar Jr., and former Quezon City Rep. Feliciano ‘Sonny’ Belmonte Jr.
The list of other eulogists at the funeral include De Venecia’s son, former Pangasinan 4th District Christoper De Venecia, as well as past and present lawmakers from both Houses of Congress, government officials, and diplomats, including the following:
- Former President and now Pampanga 2nd District Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo
- House Deputy Speaker and Iloilo 4th District Rep. Ferjenel Biron
- House Minority Leader and 4Ps party-list Rep. Marcelino Libanan
- Manila 6th District Rep. Bienvenido Abante, Jr.
- Pangasinan 2nd District Rep. Mark Cojuangco
- Cagayan de Oro City 2nd District Rep. Rufus Rodriguez
- Senate Majority Leader Juan Miguel ‘Migz’ Zubiri
- Senator Loren Legarda
- Senator Sherwin Gatchalian
- Agrarian Reform Secretary Conrado Estrella III
- Former House Majority Leader Neptali Gonzales II
- Former Surigao del Norte 2nd District Rep. Robert Ace Barbers
- Former Senator Manuel ‘Mar’ Araneta Roxas II
- Former Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin, Jr.
- Former South Korean Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong
- Former Pakistan Senator Mushahid Hussain Sayed
The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Band will play the songs “Ako ay Pilipino” (I Am Filipino) and “Impossible Dream” to open and close the program. Bulacan 4th District Rep. Linabelle Ruth Villarica, meanwhile, was chosen to deliver the invocation.
The program will also include the offering of legislative memorabilia and a video presentation chronicling De Venecia’s life in public service, before a response from Rep. Ma. Georgina Vera Perez-de Venecia, the late Speaker’s wife and current representative of the 4th District of Pangasinan.
An official invitation from the House of Representatives said the ceremony aims to reflect both the dignity of the institution and the breadth of De Venecia’s public life. The program will start at 10:00 a.m. at the Plenary Hall of the House of Representatives in Quezon City.
De Venecia passed away on February 10 at the age of 89. He served Filipinos as a member of the House of Representatives from Pangasinan for seven terms, five of which were spent as Speaker, carving out a legislative career that spanned decades and bridged shifting political eras.
The House of Representatives recently adopted House Resolution No. 758, expressing the chamber’s profound condolences to the De Venecia family.
