ADVERTISEMENT
Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider 4 ex-House Speakers to pay tribute to De Venecia in memorial service

4 ex-House Speakers to pay tribute to De Venecia in memorial service

Published Feb 15, 2026 12:13 pm  |  Updated Feb 15, 2026 01:42 pm

At A Glance

  • An esteemed list of four former Speakers who made their mark during their respective terms at the House of Representatives will deliver eulogies for the late former Speaker Jose de Venecia Jr. in a memorial service scheduled Monday, Feb. 16.
The late former House Speaker Jose de Venecia Jr. (Contributed photo)
The late former House Speaker Jose de Venecia Jr. (Contributed photo)


An esteemed list of four former Speakers who made their mark during their respective terms at the House of Representatives will deliver eulogies for the late former Speaker Jose de Venecia Jr. in a memorial service scheduled Monday, Feb. 16.
Leading those who are set to give eulogies to "Speaker Joe" is the current leader of the House of Representatives, Speaker Faustino "Bojie" Dy III of Isabela's 6th district.
He is expected to be followed by two current House members who are both former Speakers. They are Pampanga 2nd district Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and Leyte 1st district Rep. Martin Romualdez.
A former president, Macapagal-Arroyo’s tenure as Speaker of the House lasted from July 23, 2018 to June 30, 2019, during the tail end of 17th Congress.
Romualdez served as Speaker during the entirety of the 19th Congress, and during the first part of the 20th Congress up until Sept. 17, 2025, when Dy took over the reins in the chamber.
De Venecia and Arroyo hold emeritus positions in the Lakas-Christian Muslim Democrats (Lakas-CMD), the recognized dominant political party in the Philippines. Romualdez sits as party president.
Business tycoon Manny Villar--who held the speakership from July 27, 1998 to Nov. 13, 2000 during the 11th Congress--will also deliver a eulogy for De Venecia. Villar is President of the Nacionalista Party (NP), and is also a former Senate President. 
Also listed to give a eulogy is Feliciano “Sonny” Belmonte Jr., who served as Speaker during the entirety of the 15th and 16th Congresses from 2010 to 2016. The former longtime Liberal Party (LP) stalwart also briefly became Speaker from June 30, 2001 to Nov. 18, 2001 during the 12th Congress.
Incumbent Senators Majority Leader Juan Miguel "Migz" Zubiri, Loren Legarda, and Sherwin Gatchalian will also give eulogies for De Venecia, fondly called "JDV" or "Manong Joe" by those close to him.
Former senator Mar Roxas will also pay tribute and celebrate the life of De Venecia, who served a record five times as Speaker.
Former House quad-committee (quad-comm) overall chairman Robert Ace Barbers will also give a eulogy, along with current House Minority Leader 4Ps Party-list Rep. Marcelino "Nonoy" Libanan.
Expected to give the final eulogy for his father is former Pangasinan 4th district Rep. Christopher "Toff" de Venecia.
Incumbent Pangasinan 4th district Rep. Gina de Venecia, JDV's widow, will give a response.
The House of Representatives won't hold plenary session Monday in deference to the late De Venecia.
During the memorial service, the AFP Band will play the songs "Ako ay Pilipino", "The Impossible Dream", and "Edelweiss" in tribute to JDV.
Earlier, the House of Representatives adopted House Resolution (HR) No. 758, where the chamber formally expressed its profound condolences to the family of De Venecia.
It set the memorial rites at 10 a.m. Monday at the plenary hall of the House of Representatives.
Introduced by Dy, Libanan, and House Majority Leader Ilocos Norte 1st district Rep. Sandro”
Marcos HR No.758 recognizes De Venecia’s singular distinction as the only member of the House to have served as Speaker for five terms, during the 9th Congress from 1992 to 1995, the 10th Congress from 1995 to 1998, the 12th Congress from 2001 to 2004, the 13th Congress from 2004 to 2007, and the 14th Congress from 2007 to 2008.
De Venecia, who passed away on Feb. 10, 2026 at the age of 89, was also a member of the House of Representatives for seven terms, and carved out a legislative career that spanned decades and bridged shifting political eras.
ADVERTISEMENT
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1561_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1562_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1563_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}

{{ articles_filter_1564_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.mb-article-details { position: relative; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview, .mb-article-details .article-body-summary{ font-size: 17px; line-height: 30px; font-family: "Libre Caslon Text", serif; color: #000; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview iframe , .mb-article-details .article-body-summary iframe{ width: 100%; margin: auto; } .read-more-background { background: linear-gradient(180deg, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0) 13.75%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0.8) 30.79%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000) 72.5%); position: absolute; height: 200px; width: 100%; bottom: 0; display: flex; justify-content: center; align-items: center; padding: 0; } .read-more-background a{ color: #000; } .read-more-btn { padding: 17px 45px; font-family: Inter; font-weight: 700; font-size: 18px; line-height: 16px; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle; border: 1px solid black; background-color: white; } .hidden { display: none; }
function initializeAllSwipers() { // Get all hidden inputs with cms_article_id document.querySelectorAll('[id^="cms_article_id_"]').forEach(function (input) { const cmsArticleId = input.value; const articleSelector = '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .body_images'; const swiperElement = document.querySelector(articleSelector); if (swiperElement && !swiperElement.classList.contains('swiper-initialized')) { new Swiper(articleSelector, { loop: true, pagination: false, navigation: { nextEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-next', prevEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-prev', }, }); } }); } setTimeout(initializeAllSwipers, 3000); const intersectionObserver = new IntersectionObserver( (entries) => { entries.forEach((entry) => { if (entry.isIntersecting) { const newUrl = entry.target.getAttribute("data-url"); if (newUrl) { history.pushState(null, null, newUrl); let article = entry.target; // Extract metadata const author = article.querySelector('.author-section').textContent.replace('By', '').trim(); const section = article.querySelector('.section-info ').textContent.replace(' ', ' '); const title = article.querySelector('.article-title h1').textContent; // Parse URL for Chartbeat path format const parsedUrl = new URL(newUrl, window.location.origin); const cleanUrl = parsedUrl.host + parsedUrl.pathname; // Update Chartbeat configuration if (typeof window._sf_async_config !== 'undefined') { window._sf_async_config.path = cleanUrl; window._sf_async_config.sections = section; window._sf_async_config.authors = author; } // Track virtual page view with Chartbeat if (typeof pSUPERFLY !== 'undefined' && typeof pSUPERFLY.virtualPage === 'function') { try { pSUPERFLY.virtualPage({ path: cleanUrl, title: title, sections: section, authors: author }); } catch (error) { console.error('ping error', error); } } // Optional: Update document title if (title && title !== document.title) { document.title = title; } } } }); }, { threshold: 0.1 } ); function showArticleBody(button) { const article = button.closest("article"); const summary = article.querySelector(".article-body-summary"); const body = article.querySelector(".article-body-preview"); const readMoreSection = article.querySelector(".read-more-background"); // Hide summary and read-more section summary.style.display = "none"; readMoreSection.style.display = "none"; // Show the full article body body.classList.remove("hidden"); } document.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded", () => { let loadCount = 0; // Track how many times articles are loaded const offset = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10]; // Offset values const currentUrl = window.location.pathname.substring(1); let isLoading = false; // Prevent multiple calls if (!currentUrl) { console.log("Current URL is invalid."); return; } const sentinel = document.getElementById("load-more-sentinel"); if (!sentinel) { console.log("Sentinel element not found."); return; } function isSentinelVisible() { const rect = sentinel.getBoundingClientRect(); return ( rect.top < window.innerHeight && rect.bottom >= 0 ); } function onScroll() { if (isLoading) return; if (isSentinelVisible()) { if (loadCount >= offset.length) { console.log("Maximum load attempts reached."); window.removeEventListener("scroll", onScroll); return; } isLoading = true; const currentOffset = offset[loadCount]; window.loadMoreItems().then(() => { let article = document.querySelector('#widget_1690 > div:nth-last-of-type(2) article'); intersectionObserver.observe(article) loadCount++; }).catch(error => { console.error("Error loading more items:", error); }).finally(() => { isLoading = false; }); } } window.addEventListener("scroll", onScroll); });
Join Our Newsletters

Sign up by email to receive news.

© 2025 Manila Bulletin The Nation's Leading Newspaper. All Rights Reserved.