Why Cayetano should yield to Velasco

The original partymate of then Mayor Digong Duterte of Davao, and the mayor's solo supporter among hundreds of congressmen, was Alan Jay Lord Velasco of the lone district of Masbate. When no other Luzon leaders ever gave importance to Mayor Digong, Jay Lord already believed in the rising star from Davao. Alan Peter Cayetano was and still is a Nacionalista.

The only reason why Alan Peter Cayetano was chosen as running mate of then presidential candidate Duterte was because he was persistent, aggressive, and consistently determined. He went back and forth to Davao, practically begging for acceptance by then presidential candidate and his children. When then Mayor Digong went abroad, Alan Peter would follow. Manong Digong, being by nature a real kind person, took pity and chose him over Bongbong Marcos. Manong Digong already knew that Marcos would get much more votes than Cayetano. Looking back now, had Bongbong been chosen, he could have easily beaten Leni Robredo. For then, the titan of the south would have an alliance with the giant of the north. Cayetano has a very small bailiwick.

While Jay Lord has also a tiny island province, Marinduque, as his turf, at least, it is a province. On the other hand, Taguig used to be a struggling and sleepy town, with rice paddies and duck farms, together with fishing villages in the coastlines of the Laguna Lake. But because of the massive Fort Bonifacio Global City urbanization and commercialization, the suburban town blossomed into a bustling city that now rivals Makati and Pasig in terms of billions of revenues and massive developments. The Cayetanos, as a family, rule and govern this wealthy city as if it were their own family corporation. The mayor is Lino Cayetano, and the two congressional districts are represented by husband and wife (only in the Philippines) Lani in the first and Alan Peter in the second.

Of course, to be fair, the Velascos are also a family dynasty. The father, retired Supreme Court Justice Pressbitero, is governor, and mother is a municipal mayor. She used to be a party list representative. Be that as it may, since both of them are political animals and they belong to the same species in the animal kingdom, they just have to honor their words. Since Alan Peter had given his words to President Digong and Jay Lord, he should a ''a palabra de honor'' or shall we say honor among political animals. In the UST Faculty of Civil Law, where Jay Lord used to be my student, we used to teach him that a public office is a public trust. It should be beyond the commerce of man. It could not be bargained between politicians. But this is a world of ''realpolitik'' and in our brand of democracy, trapos make everything negotiable.

I am afraid that if, and when Alan Peter persists in his delusion that he has the numbers, then the forces of Jay Lord shall overwhelm him and drive him back to his fiefdom of Taguig. Alan Peter is already surrounded by unfriendly forces. He either negotiates for a truce or fights till the last drop of his blood. If he knows his marbles, and if he wants to survive, he should not follow the example of Bebot Alvarez, who was ''pulverized'' by the blitzkrieg battalions of GMA. In politics, it is not the more qualified who wins. It is he who is anointed by the gods.