Gov Gwen's gambit: Binay in 2016, BBM in 2022

What Governor Gwen did to Jojo Binay of UNA in 2016 will most likely be repeated in 2022 against BBM. And she will always say the party is the one deciding when we all know that decision making in One Cebu is just in the hands of one person; Gwendolyn Garcia, the iron lady and the golden butterfly from Dumanjug and Barili.

That is how One Cebu decides. Even her own brother, Pablo John Garcia, Bar topnotcher, deputy speaker, and representative of the largest district (in area) in Cebu and the secretary general of the party, was not heeded. Even the memory of the late Noy Pabling, her venerable father, a staunch anti-Marcos lawyer, and former governor and also deputy speaker, was not considered. That is how One Cebu makes its decisions. The mayors were called as Exhibit A to BBM and Sara. But were the mayors ever asked if Marcos and Duterte are palatable to them? Never. They were told.

I remember writing about Governor Gwen's monumental faux pas when she supported Speaker Bebot Alvarez in the latter's desperate survival fight against the forces of GMA, in conspiracy with Davao Mayor Sara Duterte (who, by the way, hated Speaker Alvarez so much, that she called on all congressmen to withdraw support from Bebot and shift to GMA). The House intramurals delayed the delivery of President Duterte's State of the Nation Address then because of the last-minute squabbles, horse trading, and treacheries. Bebot lost and GMA was furious against Garcia. Remember that GMA granted so many favors to the Garcias, including putting Winston in the juicy post in GSIS.

This is always the pattern of Governor Gwen's politics. In 2016, she misled Jojo Binay into thinking that Cebu would deliver more than a million votes for UNA's presidential standard bearer. But a few weeks before the polls, after Binay poured support to the Cebu campaign, when the tides of Duterte support went rampaging like Agaton or Odette, Gwen shifted loyalty to Duterte. What was the reason used? Well, the usual; party decision. And who is the party? You know the answer. It is not Winston Garcia, the party chairman then. It is not Pablo John Garcia, the just-resigned secretary general. It is the iron lady, Gwen Garcia, our own Margaret Thatcher, Angela Merkel, and Indira Gandhi combined.

Following this pattern of political behavior, it is not farfetched to speculate that a few days before May 9, One Cebu will drop BBM like a hot potato and shift to the winning candidate, hopefully, it will be Leni Robredo. Well, I will be the happiest person if that happens. But looking at all these from a neutral corner, from the paradigm of principle-based decision making, I would say that the quality of politics in Cebu has deteriorated to the level of personal and selfish struggles for survival at all cost. Principles, values, and moral tenets have nothing to do with such judgments at all. Sad.

Well, as a forewarning to BBM, I dare say to him, remember always that Philippine politics, to paraphrase Carmi Martin, is like Quiapo. You can never trust the people around you. The smiles in their faces are the stilettos in their hearts. So, watch your back, front, and sides too. You will never know what will happen in Cebu before May 9. One thing is sure though, with or without One Cebu, you, BBM, won't make it here. If I am wrong, I can be shot in Fuente Osmeña.