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Sunday, October 12, 2003
Malilong: Where Danding’s interest lies
By Frank Malilong, Jr.
The Other Side
A few days before President Arroyo announced that she had changed her mind about political retirement at the end of her term in 2004, somebody tipped me off about her decision. My source also said that Eduardo “Danding” Cojuanco, who had earlier made noise about a possible presidential run, was not in the race anymore.
Mrs. Arroyo has since made her historic about-face. And the talk about Cojuangco being the opposition standard bearer has all but died down. In the meantime, the Sandiganbayan has lifted the sequestration of a block of shares in San Miguel Corp. (SMC), fueling speculations a deal has been cut, assuring Danding of continued control over his flagship company.
That people actually believe that the court can be a party to a political deal is very unfortunate. The judiciary is supposed to be immune to outside influences, deciding cases solely on the merits and nothing else. And yet one cannot help but ask if the series of events that look place in recent weeks was all coincidence. You cannot really prevent people from asking if the court order, considering its timing, was in fact the first step in a confidence-building process involving the administration and Danding.
I will not hazard a guess. All eyes are now on Cojuangco. Is he or isn’t he? Ilocano Rep. Roquito Ablan’s advice for Danding not to mind “the hecklers and flatterers” is ominous. It seems to me that those who pushed for Danding’s candidacy have of late become liabilities rather than assets.
To think that many of them, like Negros Oriental Rep. Jacinto Paras, risked their own political careers in rooting for Cojuangco. Of course, Paras and company need not be reminded that there are no permanent alliances in politics, only permanent interest. Between SMC and the presidency, it is easy to see where Cojuangco’s interests lie permanently.
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Mandaue City Mayor Teddy Ouano’s endorsement of Gwen Garcia as candidate for governor is not surprising. He and Gwen’s father, Governor Pablo, are political soul mates; they also share the same passion for the megadome. The governor may have been truly touched by Ouano’s endorsement but I doubt if he was shocked. What you already know doesn’t shock you.
After Ouano’s declaration of support, I expect the Cebu town mayors (some of them, at least) to follow suit. Whoever it is who is managing Gwen’s campaign deserves credit for knowing his business. What we are seeing is a calibrated approach, building up a momentum until it reaches its peak in time for the selection of the party’s official candidate.
The first casualty of the triple G (Gwendolyn Garcia for Governor) campaign is of course Vice Gov. John Gregory Osmeña. Suddenly the Osmeña-Garcia tandem that the mayors endorsed has become a thing of the past. John-john has become irrelevant in the present scheme of things. Or is he still in the picture, except that it is now going to be a Garcia-Osmena team?
And what does John-john’s father have to say about this? Sonny O cautioned his son against cozying up to the Garcias but John-john ignored and defied him. Is John-John now ready to go back to his father and say, “Sorry, Dad I was wrong and you were right?”
The next few weeks are worth watching.
(October 12, 2003 issue)
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