Nuances of the Villar, Go gambit
In my previous article, I wrote about the political treachery committed by candidates Cynthia Villar and Bong Go against their own PDP-Laban local candidates. Because I felt there was one important base I failed to cover, I am doing this necessary sequel. Honestly though, that write-up somehow touched some sensitive nerves considering some adverse reactions I heard. I said then that Villar and Go betrayed Edgardo Labella and Michael Rama, their party’s bets for Cebu City mayor and vice mayor, respectively.
That conclusion was inevitable in the light of the fact that Villar and Go publicly announced their support for the BPOK candidates. To many of us not directly involved in politics, and may not be aware of the dynamics among politicians, what they did was in obvious pursuit of their obsession to top the senatorial race. It is probable that in their wanting to rank high in the electoral contest, they crossed party lines. Thus, while their candidacies are borne on the broad shoulders of PDP-Laban, they need not support only their own party standard bearers in local politics but also enter into some kind of a sweetheart deal with the enemies of their partymates.
I dare venture the idea that this move, which I describe as an act of betrayal, will not bring them the results they want. Consider that on one hand, BOPK supporters know how the president dislikes Osmeña. Only recently, President Duterte threatened to slap the mayor should they meet in public for some personal reasons. The mayor, who might not have been so rebuked in his life, surely felt humiliated. His perceived vindictiveness notwithstanding, he held his tongue. But one huge way for BOPK to get back at President Duterte is to trounce his candidates, among them Villar and Go.
Osmeña might appear to distance himself from the Liberal Party. But history tells us that what appears is not real. In 2016, Osmeña published a picture of him, Mar Roxas, and Noynoy Aquino, all projecting serious faces of concern. At the background were the images of their illustrious fathers, senators Serging Osmeña, Gerry Roxas, and Ninoy Aquino, all stalwarts of the Liberal Party. The subliminal message of the picture was that for decades on end, their political bonds were indestructible even until today. In fact, the announced leave of absence filed by Bimbo Fernandez from City Hall confirmed my initial belief of the continued good relations of Mayor Osmeña with the Liberal Party. Osmeña cracks the party whip. He demands everyone to toe his line. If he did not have any form of unwritten understanding for Fernandez to campaign for the candidates of the LP, he would have kicked Bimbo out, not just have him take a leave. How can Villar and Go expect the BOPK to support them?
The group of Labella was stung by Villar and Go’s open and public dalliance with the BOPK. The local Partido Barug/PDP-Laban coalition saw that these two senatorial candidates took them for granted, or worse, they could not be trusted. If ordinary citizens like me believe that such an act of treachery that Villar and Go did to Labella and Rama is unpardonable, we can expect the leadership of the local Barug and PDP-Laban Labella/Rama Team to junk them. Their dreams of topping the senate race in so far as Cebu City is concerned can become a political nightmare.
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