A POLITICAL drama unfolding in Mandaue City is so intriguing that Mandauehanons are compelled, with bated breath, to watch how it will end.
Political allies to start with, now 6th District Rep. Jonas Cortes and Mandaue City Mayor Luigi Quisumbing are throwing at each other practically everything but the kitchen sink, after the former has accused the latter of defaulting on their agreement to switch places in the May 2019 elections. It must be noted that both traded places in the 2016 elections, while Cortes was then the mayor and Quisumbing, a congressman, for political expediency.
Whether or not both are perceived to have been ineffective in their present capacity as government officials, it glaringly appears that of the two elective positions the mayorship seems perhaps more covetous and fulfilling–personally and politically,
Thus, it is no wonder that Quisumbing is not giving up the position, while Cortes is hellbent on being elected mayor–yet again.
But what really makes Mandaue politics all the more fascinating is the palpability that some Quisumbings are favoring the candidacy of Cortes.
Take, for example, the appearance of one Cortes supporter, presumably a Quisumbing, where during a most recent political rally he was openly seen wearing a T-shirt that said, “I am a Quisumbing but I am for Jonas Cortes.”
Mayor Quisumbing himself admitted, in an interview with Leo Lastimosa on radio dyAB, that his relations with his grandfather, businessman Norberto Quisumbing Jr. (NQ), have been estranged.
If a picture is worth a thousand words, then how else is one to interpret a photo published not too long ago in a local daily of the highly respected NQ turning over a number of motorcycles and other materials for Jonas’ campaign use. Certainly this speaks volumes of who his grandson is or how the Mandaue City Government is managed and Cortes is circulating this publicity to his great advantage.
In the Mandaue City mayoralty contest, therefore, the single most important factor that will determine the winner is not about having a Sara Duterte endorse and raise one’s hand, but rather having an insider and a respected member of the community in the person of NQ who has the business, social and political sense to inculcate in the minds of the Madauehanons what is best for them.