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Wednesday, December 10, 2003
Wenceslao: Uniting Cebu’s warring leaders
By Bong Wenceslao
If promises are fulfilled, President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo will be here today for the supposed signing of a covenant between the local Lakas-Christian Muslim Democrats (Lakas-CMD) and the local Nationalist People’s Coalition (NPC). The visit actually has all the makings of a parachute diplomacy—arrive, shake hands, leave.
The problem with this kind of diplomacy is when the one doing the parachuting steps on other people’s toes during landing. Which looks like what the President is doing. Blame that, however, not only on the fractious local Lakas-CMD and the uncertain status of the local NPC but also on the temperament of top officials of both parties.
I don’t know what kind of information the President was fed, but it sure looks like she got either the inadequate or the wrong one. That is really the problem when the unifier is too far up to be able to know what is happening on the ground. She won’t know that the steps taken toward a supposed unity is haphazard and artificial.
Presidential Assistant for Central Visayas Felix Guanzon, in a radio dyLA interview, said today’s activity aims to mirror the rainbow coalition in the House of Representatives that involves Lakas, NPC and other smaller groups. After this, a committee will be formed to choose the standard bearer of the supposed coalition.
But Guanzon glossed over the fact that Lakas in the province is divided two ways, the NPC is not one and that other political groups and personalities are doing some scheming there. And that prior to today’s activity, there was no attempt to solve the conflict or at least direct the mindset of local political leaders to possible unity.
When a party enters into an agreement with another, it is supposed to be of one mind, if not any pact won’t amount to anything. As it is now, the Lakas bloc of former congressman Junie Martinez and the faction of Gov. Pablo Garcia are resisting the agreement with NPC. I mean, the Junie-Pabling conflict should have been settled first.
Meanwhile, the NPC has members that may yet bolt out of the party, like Rep. Nerissa Soon-Ruiz, who is more loyal to Sen. John “Sonny” Osmeña, now officially an independent. Osmeña is doing his own maneuvering in the local scene and may or may not honor the agreement, depending on where he can gain better political mileage.
Or maybe the organizers of today’s activity are not after real unity but only want to give an impression of unity. Lakas and NPC top guns in “imperial Manila” have already decided that they unite—and they are herding local leaders and forcing them to follow their lead. But I doubt if a decision imposed from above will work here.
Will Martinez, who has already invested money and effort to mount his candidacy for governor, give in if the committee nominates another standard bearer? And will Garcia, who has pushed long and hard for Gwen’s candidacy do so, too? What about the other governor-wannabe, NPC’s Vice Gov. John-john Osmeña?
A faction will only succumb to strong-arm tactics if it could not launch a credible campaign without the support of the party. Another factor is if there is no other party that the faction can jump to. In this sense, I doubt if Martinez, Garcia and John-john will give way. They are not dependent on a party, and there is still the united opposition of Fernando Poe Jr. as alternative.
In the end, the loser of this haphazardly done activity will be President Arroyo, whose candidacy Lakas-CMD and NPC is propping up—she may lose to the opposition and other parties one or two of the political blocs in Cebu that are supporting her.
(e-mail: cowens21@lycos.com; cell phone: 09274912362)
(December 10, 2003 issue)
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