NO DOUBT, Cong. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s unexpected accession to the Speaker’s “throne” may yet reshape the political landscape of both the city and province of Iloilo, especially where her clashing friends are concerned.
Until Monday’s “coup d’etat” that saw her edging out Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez unaware, Rep. Ferj Biron (4th District, Iloilo) had already abandoned hope of being endorsed by the ruling PDP-Laban party as coalition candidate for governor. He had given that up to Cong. Arthur Defensor Jr. (3rd District. Biron, representing the Nacionalista Party (NP), would then be running against him.
Would that set-up change in Biron’s favor now that Arroyo has thanked him for being one of the 184 congressmen responsible for toppling the well-entrenched Alvarez?
Assuming yes to that, there is no basis for concluding that GMA’s endorsement would boost the chances of the endorsed; it could go the other way because of her not-so-clean track record as past President. However, she certainly could mobilize the well-oiled party machinery to favor one over the other.
On the other hand, we heard Defensor on radio yesterday claiming that his neutrality over the GMA-Alvarez rivalry had on the contrary prompted the former President to appoint him as one of the members of the transition team – the others being congressmen Raneo Abu, Fredenil Castro, Miro Quimbo, and Arthur Yap – aimed at smoothing things out with Alvarez to maintain party unity.
Why not? Alvarez had been in her Cabinet as transportation secretary in their halcyon days.
She would not likewise want to offend the young Defensor’s dad, Gov. Arthur Defensor Sr., who was one of her Lakas-CMD partymates during her presidency.
Ergo, GMA will keep her hands off the Defensor-Biron fight.
Moving over to Iloilo City politics, on the other hand, the lady Speaker would be expected to side with her PDP-Laban partymate, Cong. Jerry Treñas, in his quest for the mayorship against the incumbent, considering that Mayor Jose Espinosa III belongs to another party, the NP. Remember, during her incumbency as the country’s President, Arroyo successfully prevailed upon the city mayors to elect then Mayor Treñas president of the League of Cities of the Philippines (LCP), from 2004 to 2010.
This time, however, if ever she intervenes, it would be to patch up the two contenders who are relatives by affinity, their wives Rosalie Sarabia Treñas and Gina Sarabia Espinosa being sisters, to effect a win-win solution – which is for Treñas (in his last term as congressman) to run for mayor; and Espinosa, for congressman. Otherwise, one of them would lose to the other, or both lose to a probable third force.
Arroyo would persist to close the gap because the Sarabias have always been like blood relatives to the Macapagals. The late President Diosdado Macapagal, GMA’s dad, was a close friend of the late Don Salvador Sarabia (Treñas’ and Espinosa’s father-in-law). Whenever in Iloilo City, the elder Macapagal would occasionally hold press conference in Don Badong’s residence.
When reached by phone yesterday, Treñas reiterated to this columnist that he had kept the PDP-Laban’s slot for congressman open in the hope of finally convincing his bilas Joe III to reconsider.
Earlier, I had also asked Espinosa for a reason why he could not be persuaded to team up with Treñas. He reminded me that the latter in 2016 vowed to quit politics and to support his (Espinosa’s) candidacy for mayor in 2019.
As to who is right between the two, if they insist on fighting over City Hall, let the consequence determine. (hvego31@gmail.com/PN)
