Taking a second hard look at Gibo Teodoro

This is the guy that the nation failed to elect in 2010. He was the most qualified but his timing was off, and there were too many candidates; his cousin PNoy, whose mother just died and was elected for sentimental reasons, Erap Estrada who was still popular with the masa, Manny Villar with truckloads of money, Brother Eddie Villanueva with his loyal following of over a million, and Richard Gordon of Subic and Red Cross. Gibo was only number 4. Cebu was all yellow. The rest is history.

And now, the good news is that he has finally decided to come back to public service. The country needs a man of unquestionable competence, proven commitment and palpable conscientiousness, "May utak, may puso, may konsyensya". The bad news is that he is not running for president. He wants to play second fiddle to someone who may not be superior to him in qualifications, national exposure, and experience, but definitely stronger than him in clout, logistics, and connections; Sara Duterte. Call that political pragmatism. Perhaps, Gibo is looking at a 2028 trajectory for Malacañang. By that time, he will be 64 years old, not too old like President Digong who became president at 71. Nor too young like Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo who, by the Tejeros Convention, became our first president at 29, and Ramon Magsaysay who was elected in 1953 at 46, and only 49 when he died.

Gibo Teodoro is a son of a very rich family, richer than PNoy’s. His mother was Mercedes Cojuangco, sister of Danding, the owner of San Miguel Corp. Danding and Mercedes are first-degree cousins of Tita Cory and Peping. Gibo studied in Xavier in both elementary and high school. Then he went to La Salle and finished Commerce with flying colors. He went to UP Law and topped his class, awarded the much-coveted Dean's Medal for Academic Excellence. He topped the Bar in 1989. Then he took up his Master of Laws in Harvard Law School. He also passed the New York Bar. Gibo is brilliant but low-profile, very humble, soft-spoken, and cool. He is never conscious about his brilliance, or proud of his family's wealth. He was never involved in campus politics. He was busy as chairman of the Sangguniang Kabataan in his home province, Tarlac.

Gibo was elected congressman representing Tarlac's 1st District in 1998 when he was 34 and served until 2007. He was succeeded by his wife, Monica Prieto Teodoro. Gibo never became senator. In 2007, he was appointed as DND secretary at 43. That was also the age of Magsaysay, when President Quirino named him National Defense secretary. In 2009, he resigned from NPC, the party of his uncle Danding, and joined GMA's Lakas-Kampi-CMD. On September 16, 2009, the party's executive committee, apparently influenced by GMA, by secret ballot, voted for Gibo to be the party's standard bearer. He got 42 votes against Bayani Fernando who got only five. On November 20 that year, GMA resigned as party chairwoman and handed over the leadership to Gibo. His campaign slogan was "Galing at talino". After Cory died that year, the tide turned against Gibo and running against the tide was his irreversible error. He was in a hurry. He was just 45.

He was badly beaten because of three factors. First, he was riding on the wrong horse, GMA, who was so tainted with much controversy. Second, the timing favored his less-competent, less-passionate, less-intelligent second-degree cousin, who surged to popularity under his late mother's image. PNoy (bless his soul) was elected for sentimental reasons. The results were devastating: PNoy got 42.08% of the votes or 15.2 million. Erap was second with 9.5 million, followed by Villar with 5.57 million. Gibo got 4.095 million, Villanueva 1.1 million, Gordon half a million. Gibo should learn his lessons. He should choose the people who will endorse him. Going to Sara may be the most expedient option. But is this not the same as being associated with GMA? Just asking. Of course, Sara is much cleaner and has a more decent record.

Running for vice president when he should be running for president in 2022, may prove to be just like running for president in 2010 when he should have been running for vice president then. Well, sometimes, the most intelligent people might miss the simplest things. I think Gibo needs a very astute, experienced, and smart adviser and handler. I know of one and I might recommend this to him. Who? Secret.