By SENATOR MUSHAHID HUSSAIN
(The author is co-chairman of the International Conference of Asian Political Parties, which former Speaker Jose de Venecia founded and launched in Manila in 2000 and which now represents 352 political parties from 52 countries in Asia. He also co-founded with JDV the Asian Parliamentary Assembly, which is composed of 43 Asian parliaments. A veteran lawmaker, foreign policy expert, and scholar, Senator Hussain chairs the Senate Committee on Defense of Pakistan and has earlier served as Information Minister. He is also a former journalist and a visiting professor on international relations in Pakistan and the U.S. He is a good friend of JDV. He wrote this tribute to JDV who is celebrating his 87th birthday on Dec. 26).
It is interesting that this time around, the birthday of one of Asia’s eminent statesmen, Jose de Venecia, Jr., coincides with the 23rd anniversary of his founding of the ICAPP, International Conference of Asian Political Parties. These two happy anniversaries are a testament to the resilience and vital role of ideas in the shaping of events and the moving of Asian history.
A great son of the Philippines and a greater son of Asia, Jose de Venecia, popularly known as JDV, is an innovative lawmaker, pioneering businessman, peacemaker, diplomat, and a man of vision who founded what is today, almost a quarter century after its founding, the leading organization of political parties of Asia, ICAPP.
It was in the year 2000, at the beginning of the 21st century which is now being seen as the Asian Century, that JDV, then not holding any office in government or parliament, conceived and launched the ICAPP. By then, he already had a track record of a person who galvanized people with ideas, issues, and initiatives; as a leader with the tenacity to pursue goals that would otherwise be thought an ‘impossible dream.’
This self-made statesman started writing when he was in his teens, giving expression to his ideas about the world shaping around him, and in his late 20s, he was sitting on the high table in what was then the center of strategic gravity in Asia, Saigon, the capital of South Vietnam, where one of the biggest conflicts of the post-World War II was emerging.
Representing his beloved country, JDV as a young diplomat made his mark among the senior diplomats and generals with whom he rubbed shoulders. And from then on, there was no turning back for this young lad from Pangasinan.
He was a participant in several historic moments and movements, from conceiving the Filipino workers’ remittances program in the 1960s which was of immense help to the economy of the Philippines, to seizing the first opportunity for Filipino workers in the Middle East oil boom of the 1970s, JDV was always found at the frontlines of events not just in the Philippines but also in Asia as a whole.
JDV’s life is an embodiment of the Asian spirit of resilience, overcoming setbacks, facing challenges head on, and bouncing back like a bang. Losing his bid for the Philippine presidency, he rose to become the longest-serving Speaker of the House of Representatives in postwar Philippines.
My own connection with JDV began through ICAPP and it is now an almost a quarter of century old bond, reinforced by our common commitment to Asian values and a common worldview, where we see Asian resurgence inextricably intertwined with peace, harmony, cooperation, connectivity, and camaraderie.
What is unique in the ICAPP is it is an inclusive body which includes government and opposition, left and right, in fact it is like a rainbow representing the finest of Asia’s unity in diversity.
ICAPP has also brought good luck for many of its key leaders as a role in ICAPP is often a fortuitous stepping stone for the future. The current chairman of ICAPP Chung Eui-yong came out of semi-retirement to become the foreign minister and national security czar of South Korea. Dr. Nalinee Taveesin, after a long spell in the wilderness under the military regime of Thailand, has become a member of the cabinet and a key adviser of the Prime Minister on trade and investment. The wheel of fortune has also turned for the better for our friends in Cambodia: Khuon Sudary has now become the first woman Speaker of Cambodia, and the dynamic Sous Yara, who is a worthy successor to the late Deputy Prime Minister Sok An, is serving his country with distinction and dedication, and he has now become an indispensable political trouble-shooter for Cambodia. In Sri Lanka, Daya Gamage also became a cabinet minister while ICAPP has produced two prime ministers in Nepal, Madhav Kumar Nepal and K.P. Sharma Oli.
Today, ICAPP represents the hopes and aspirations of Asia and it is without any iota of doubt, the institutional and political voice of the Asian Century.
As we celebrate the ICAPP success story, let us not forget its amazing founding father JDV, who planted this seed 23 years ago that has blossomed into an all-inclusive Asian family that is marching forward to build a better tomorrow for the world’s largest continent; a brighter, peaceful, prosperous future, with no overlords and no underdogs.
Thank you, JDV, for all you have done, above all, being a great friend and a doer who has delivered. Wishing you happy birthday and may you live a long life in good health and may the ICAPP continue to flourish as a democratic and inclusive organization, with its truly unique character.