Five incumbent and former House Speakers, two former Senate Presidents, and one former Philippine president paid tribute to the late former Speaker Jose de Venecia Jr. in a show of unity and singular admiration for one man that may never be witnessed again.

The remains of De Venecia--fondly called "Speaker Joe", "Manong Joe", and "JDV"--arrived at the House of Representatives' plenary hall one final time at just before 10 a.m. Monday for a memorial service in his honor.

The event gathered heavyweights from the political world, where he himself was viewed as a titan.

The chamber--where De Venecia served a record five times as Speaker--had earlier suspended plenary session in deference to the memory of the former longtime Pangasinan congressman.

Delivering their eulogies for JDV one after the other were incumbent House Speaker Faustino "Bojie" Dy III, former Speaker and president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, former Speaker and Senate President Manny Villar, former Speakers Martin Romualdez and Feliciano "Sonny" Belmonte Jr., and former Senate President Juan Miguel "Migz" Zubiri.

Their remarks carried a common theme: De Venecia was an indomitable unifier.

"He welcomed different perspectives in the room and treated disagreement as an opportunity for clarity. Sa kanya, ang pulitika ay instrumento lamang; ang kapakanan ng bayan ang laging nauuna at nananaig (For him, politics is merely a tool; the welfare of the people always comes first and prevails)," Dy, Isabela's 6th district congressman, said.

"Sa kasalukuyan, hindi natin maikakaila ang dami ng hamon at ingay na nakapaligid sa atin (At present, we cannot deny the multitude of challenges and the noise surrounding us). Partisan noise can easily distract from productive work. Sa mga ganitong sandali, ang kanyang alaala ay nagsisilbing gabay (In such moments, his memory serves as a guide)," Dy said.

Dy further said of JDV: "He reminds us of a time when lawmakers could rise above party lines for the sake of the Republic—when debate was vigorous yet civil, and when national interest outweighed personal gain."

Like De Venecia, Macapagal-Arroyo--the incumbent Pampanga 2nd district representative--held an emeritus position over at the much-respected Lakas-Christian Muslim Democrats (Lakas-CMD) party.

"Search Joe’s name, and three words often appear: parliamentarian, statesman, peacemaker. It was my privilege to work alongside such a man," Macapagal-Arroyo said.

"For Joe, coalition-building was not a tactic. It was a philosophy—the philosophy that dialogue is stronger than division. He believed that in a diverse archipelago such as ours, governance needed inclusion, patience, and bridge-building. He believed in consensus. He built the Rainbow Coalition," she added.

Romualdez, currently Leyte's 1st district congressman and Lakas-CMD president, called De Venecia a founder, a builder, a unifier. "

"He was one of the fathers of Lakas—when it was still Lakas-Tao then Lakas-NUCD—at a time when our democracy was finding its footing once more. He did not build a party for power. He built a movement for purpose," he said.

"He was the father of the Rainbow Coalition—a phrase that will forever belong to him. But the Rainbow Coalition was not merely a political strategy. It was a philosophy of governance. It was the recognition that in a democracy as diverse as ours—Christian and Muslim, North and South, majority and minority—progress is achieved not by exclusion, but by consensus," Romualdez said.

"He was a consensus-builder in the noblest sense. He did not silence dissent; he harmonized it. He did not diminish differences; he reconciled them. In an era when division often threatens institutions, he demonstrated that unity is not weakness—it is strength disciplined by wisdom," he further said of the late House leader.

Villar also commented on De Venecia’s reputation as consensus-builder. "He had a rare ability to see beyond pride and politics, and he used that gift to turn disagreement into dialogue, and dialogue into action."

"He built bridges across the aisle, and across continents, because he understood that the Filipino dream was larger than any quarrel or ambition," Villar said.

The ex-Senate President also shared JDV's "mastery of detail", and said that the latter "could summon statistics faster than anyone in the room—figures about the economy, trade, population, energy, or the achievements of the House".

"You could never outnumber Joe de Venecia. His mastery of detail came from that same devotion: he wanted to know everything, because he wanted to help everyone," he said.

Belmonte, another contemporary of JDV, described the latter as a "statesman and a diplomat par excellence, a true servant of the Filipino people".

"In an era often marked by division, he was a proponent of inclusivity and mutual respect. He often reminded us that our responsibility as leaders is to listen as much as we speak, to build bridges and to foster understanding among all Filipinos. Thus, the Rainbow Coalition that started during his Speakership became the benchmark for all the Speakers that were elected after him, myself included," recalled Belmonte.

Zubiri, the current Senate Majority Leader and also a former House member, shared how JDV impacted his career as a young legislator. "Whenever I look back on my time here in the House of Representatives, our beloved Manong Joe looms large in my memories," he said in plenary.

"I had the privilege of serving as his Secretary General at Lakas-CMD, at hindi ko makakalimutan ang lagi niyang sinasabi sa amin noon (I cannot forget what he always told us back then), complete with hand gesture, 'We will take people from the left and the right, and put them together,'" Zubiri said.

"It was a blessing for me to learn so much from Manong Joe, he himself being one of the best of the best," he further said.

Pangasinan 4th district Rep. Gina de Venecia, JDV's widow; and former Rep. Christopher "Toff" de Venecia, JDV's son also delivered messages during the memorial service.