Imagine this: What will happen if Speaker Jose De Venecia is pushed against the wall? For God's sake, we dread the day to see this happening. But when push comes to shove, we can only say hell hath no fury like a Speaker scorned.
For one who knows too much about the many shenanigans this administration has committed all these years, the Speaker can do his worst.
True, there are best case as there are worst case scenarios. We do not wish to join the league of doomsayers but if all indications point to a chaotic situation if things go out of hand, then so be it.

How we wish that what started well, it might as well, ends well. Be that as it may, only the unfolding events will teach us on its hour.

The explosive drama creeping into a devastating end is the current brouhaha over the government involvement in the multi-billion National Broadband Network project.

Although we are more concerned with local developments, we can't for a moment ignore the fact that we too have the responsibility to dish out our two-cent worth if the situation calls for people like us to stand up and be counted.

Thus, among so-called commentators, we add our faint voice to the cacophony of voices vying for attention in the controversial NBN project now the subject of a Senate investigation.

Our thesis here is on the far reaching implications of the Speaker being dragged into the NBN muck.

What we are concerned of is the apparent bid to get even with the startling revelation of Joey de Venecia III of Amstersdam Holdings, Inc. one of the bidders of the broadband deal courtesy of Secretary Leandro Mendoza of the DOTC. During the initial Senate hearing, Sec. Mendoza insinuated that the businessman's father (Speaker de Venecia) lobbied for his son's firm to bag the NBN contract.

From our point of view, the Mendoza revelation amounted to a tit-for-tat. Maybe unknown to him, by implicating the Speaker in the NBN mess, he is pitting de Venecia against the President especially so that the First Gentleman was tagged by de Venecia III as the "mystery bully" of the stinking deal.

Without batting an eyelash, does the DOTC secretary know the repercussion of what was he talking about?. Has it become a free-for-all that he has named the Speaker as part of the whole scam not knowing its all encompassing complications? Is the good secretary ready to accept the lethal reality if de Venecia spills the beans about what he knows of this administration's tightly guarded secrets? Heaven's forbids, if this will happen, no amount of damage control will come in handy if "all hell breaks loose".

Simply put, our guarded cynicism is when the Speaker runs amuck and vows to tell all.
First of all, this is no brief on de De Venecia. As an epitome of what characterizes a traditional politician par excellence, we have no love lost with this loquacious bolero. But we will admire him no end if he will stand by his son all throughout this whole episode because he is telling the truth about the anomalies attending the NBN transaction.
It may be true that as son of the Speaker he is by no means allowed to participate in government contracts because it is in violation of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act. We have no quarrel on that. But we would like to believe that there is no law that prohibits the young de Venecia to tell the truth.
And if the Speaker is scorned because he is provoked to do so, then say goodbye to a perfect day.

There is no question that as Speaker of the House, he has in his hands the power of impeachment that will surely put President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo in a tight fix.

If the lady President survived two impeachment proceedings in the past this time, the ballgame may not be the same again. With the Speaker's crown wobbling over his head every passing day, there's no telling that it will be placed in the auction block with would be successors ready to cut him to size.

But they should not under estimate the Speaker's capacity to convert one man's crisis into another man's fortune. Known for his marketing propensity to raise piggeries in the Muslim areas, de Venecia is no pushover in a deadly game of brinkmanship.

Who can stop him from mustering his diehard followers in Congress to institute impeachment measures if plans to unseat him as Speaker stares him in the face.? At the most, he only needs about 50 died- in- the wool partisans to muster a core group of pro-impeachment solons. For sure the House minority numbering more than 30 is enough to constitute the magic number enough to impeach the President.

All told, any congressman allied with GMA should think many times before making any false move of tinkering the speakership or else he will wake up one morning his President is gone. For good.