A hodgepodge called PDP-Laban

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BY HERBERT VEGO
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Tuesday. September 12, 2017
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EVERY politician today, it seems, wants to crash the PDP-Laban gate just because it is the political party to which President Rodrigo Duterte belongs. That pattern has gone down from the martial law years when President Ferdinand Marcos’ Kilusang Bagong Lipunan (KBL) dominated the national and local government units.

Hence, most traditional politicians today – who used to be with the Liberal Party (LP) and former President Benigno Simeon Aquino III – are already Duterte’s followers. But as to whether they would abide by party decisions, this observer doubts.

Nowhere is this observation more pronounced than in the province of Iloilo where each gubernatorial wannabe hopes to “unite” the others behind him. This was the impression that Rep. Richard Garin (1st District) projected in his hometown of Guimbal last Thursday (Sept. 7) when Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez came to induct him as provincial chairman of PDP-Laban.

The event ran short of proclaiming Garin the party’s candidate for governor in 2019. Otherwise, that might have dampened the enthusiasm of outgoing Gov. Arthur Defensor Sr., who would like his son, Rep. Arthur Defensor Jr. (3rd District), to succeed him.

The duo, whose induction into PDP-Laban has yet to be scheduled, pins on Alvarez’s assurance that it’s not the provincial but the national leadership that would select the gubernatorial candidates in 2019. Nevertheless, as Iloilo governor for six three-year terms (1992-2001 and 2010-2019) and congressman for three terms (2001-2010), he wields strong influence on the national leadership.

Aside from Garin and Defensor Jr., there’s one more Duterte-identified congressman, Ferjenel Biron (4th District), who aspires to be next governor. Unrestrained, these three political titans could race against each other to the photo-finish.

Biron used to be very vocal about either running or supporting a candidate based on a “gentleman’s agreement.” The dictionary defines that as “an informal agreement that does not have any legal force.”

The agreement was forged in two meetings among Governor Defensor, congressmen Arcadio Gorriceta (2nd District), Arthur Defensor Jr. (3rd District), Ferjenel Biron (4th District), and Raul Tupas (5th District), where they agreed to choose only one among themselves to run against any other gubernatorial aspirant. Rep. Garin was not present in those meetings.

This time, Biron is no longer keen on relying on that agreement. While pledging “loyalty” to President Duterte, he has decided to remain a member of the Nacionalista Party (NP).

Having decided to jump from LP to PDP-Laban, the elder Defensor also announced in a press conference that the “gentleman’s agreement” had lost its value. However, as to whether he would abide by party decision, it remains to be seen. There is always an “escape” offered by the saying, “Only fools do not change their minds.”

Richard Garin, on the other hand, clings to the possibility of pricking the conscience of Defensor, reminding him that he opted to be his running mate for governor in 2010; and that without that team-up, Defensor could have lost. The Garins also supported the re-election of the governor in 2013 and 2016. So, shouldn’t the latter return the favor?

Well, at the risk of being repetitious, there are no permanent allies in politics; there is only permanent interest.

Meanwhile, no veteran politician in the province has advanced to be recognized as opposition candidate – that is, someone who would take a stand against the Duterte administration. Methinks this is because of the prevailing perception that the President is still popular among the masses despite the issues being heaped and hyped against him in the media.

But watch out. If and when Duterte falls – even if in popularity only – in the months preceding the 2019 midterm elections, today’s “Duterteristas” would turn “oposisyonistas” – as in the last days of President Marcos in office. (hvego31@gmail.com/PN)
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