THE swapping of slots by reelectionist Gov. Hilario Davide III with Vice Gov. Agnes Magpale, which I call the Epic Switch, suddenly changed the equation in the fight for the governor’s seat in the 2019 election.
It’s no longer PDP-Laban vs. Liberal Party, not Gwen Garcia vs. Junjun Davide anymore. Suddenly, it’s Gwen Garcia vs. Agnes Magpale. Junjun’s sliding down pushes Agnes up front. And Agnes is not PDP-Laban but an NPC, one of the parties allied with President Duterte and an Almendras who has blood ties with the Dutertes.
Blood ties
Last Tuesday (Oct. 16), Davide and Magpale downplayed the fact that President Duterte has publicly acknowledged that he and Agnes are blood relatives: the Dutertes have Cebu roots tied to the Duranos and Almendrases in Danao City where the president’s pa Vicente came from.
Both incumbent Capitol top officials said that Duterte wouldn’t bother with local politics. Yet Davide at least twice in that press-con announcing the swap said Duterte has a “soft spot” for Magpale. And Junjun argues that the alleged bullying against his mayor-supporters might stop if Agnes would lead the team.
Six times more
Let’s skip the blood ties factor and focus instead on what Congresswoman Gwen might use as issues against Magpale, who assumed as Gwen’s vice governor when then VG Greg Sanchez died in 2011.
Age is one. Magpale herself sensed it coming when she said at the press-con that at 76 she is healthy. She conceded about her knees and joints cracking “once in a while” but her heart and mind “are still young.”
Gwen didn’t bring it on the table wrapped and labeled “Age.” Instead she obliquely but clearly referred to Agnes’s age when she said it will be a showdown between two women. “One that has served for many, many, many, many many, many, many years and a woman that has served over a decade.” Did you count how many times “many” was said? Seven, or six too many, hard not to notice.
‘Not old old’
At 76, Magpale is old but “not old old.” The president is 73, House Speaker Gloria Arroyo is 71, Manila Mayor Erap Estrada is 81; Toledo City Mayor Sonny Osmeña is 82.
Agnes is younger than a number of other notable politicians who filed their COCs for the 2019 elections. Rep. Imelda Marcos, running for Ilocos Norte governor, is 89; Talisay Mayor Eduardo Gullas, who seeks the first district House seat turned 88 last Oct. 13; and Juan Ponce Enrile, for senator, will be 95 next Feb. 14.
Jokes, not issue
Age has not been a major issue in our elections. Duterte began complaining about his age only after he became president. Nobody raised it during the campaign.
Sure, it could be the butt of jokes, e.g quips about a candidate for mayor being pushed up to the back of a pickup truck used as rally stage or an aspirant bringing along a breathalyzer in his campaign bag.
But it’s not the kind of issue that packs a wallop. Poor health is more effective than one’s collection of years.
Survey, optics
Optics though favor the younger or younger-looking candidate: Kennedy beat Nixon largely because JFK looked younger on TV, a new device in the 1960 US election. But Reagan, then 73, beat the youthful Mondale in 1984, disarming the nation with his sound bite about not exploiting age against his “inexperienced” opponent.
My bet: the winner would be the candidate who’d know better how to use the usual, ah, old tools and devices of the election campaign.