DAGUPAN CITY— Do your homework and stop bellyaching!

These are the strong words of House Speaker Jose de Venecia Jr, fed up by the constant “badmouthing” of Mayor Benjamin Lim against him, as he finally released his punches, so to say, against the mayor.

Lim accused de Venecia of blocking the bangus processing plant project and of giving only small projects in the city compared to other towns under de Venecia’s turf in the fourth district of Pangasinan, among others.

Since last year, Lim is going around Pangasinan fourth district allegedly spreading unkind remarks against the speaker. Fourth district mayors, the media included relayed these to de Venecia.

The mayor also said he will contest de Venecia’s post to give the people an option in the 2007 elections.

Lim was elected congressman in 1998 but did not seek re-election and decided to give way to de Venecia in the 2001 elections.

A visibly irked de Venecia, told local reporters the other day that Lim should make up his mind about the bangus processing plant.

He said Lim says different amounts for the project and up to now, there is no site yet where it will be built.

Saying that he was even the one who kept on pressuring then Agriculture Secretary Cito Lorenzo to release an initial P10 million pledged by President Gloria Arroyo for the said project, de Venecia said Lim should answer important questions about the project.

“Who is going to own the plant? He said he’s going to bring in investors then why should the government finance it? Why doesn’t he let them finance it? Who are these investors?”, de Venecia asked.

“Di pwede ang haw-shaw dito,” de Venecia said. He added that the city is under a major financial hemorrhage for the P300 million worth market Lim built which was financed through a loan. The market project is a flop as stall owners could not afford to pay the rental and business is bleak in the area prompting stall owners to close shop.

But de Venecia said he is determined to help him but Lim refused to talk to him.

When Mrs. Arroyo came here last Dec. 26, the President asked Lim about the plant. He told Mrs. Arroyo that he just deposited the P10 million initial fund released before the 2004 elections because it is miniscule as the plant needs about P50 million.

When the President left, Lim told reporters that,” I know that somehow the project did not materialize because somebody is not happy about the project. Somebody is not supportive of the project”. Lim was referring to de Venecia.

Lim tried to distance himself from deVenecia after he asked President Arroyo to resign. But de Venecia, Lakas party president, respected Lim for his stand and did not even give any party discipline against the mayor.

Lim also became critical of de Venecia when the diversion road project whose funding the speaker worked out would not pass the way Lim wanted to. The road project is being built near a big mall owned by Lim’s business competitor.