THE results of the last elections showed who’s who in politics in Cebu. The governor, two congressmen and two municipal mayors, all winners by huge margins, belong to the clan of former Cebu Gov. Pablo Garcia.
Noy Pabling served as Cebu governor for nine years. When he served out the allowable three consecutive terms, his daughter Gwendolyn succeeded him for another nine years. After a six-year absence, the family is back in the saddle at the Capitol.
While it is too early for prognostication, it looks like the province will remain firmly in the hands of the Garcias for at least another nine years. There couldn’t have been a stronger supporting cast: Rep. PJ Garcia of the third district, Rep. Duke Frasco of the fifth, Mayor Christina Frasco of Liloan and Mayor Marlon Garcia of Barili.
PJ is the governor’s brother, Duke her son-in-law and husband of Christina, and Marlon, another brother. It is worth mentioning that Liloan and Barili are two of the most vote-rich towns in the province.
Equally noteworthy is the fact that 27 out of the 51 mayors in Cebu are allied with Garcia. The number is surely going to grow in the next few months when the opposition mayors begin pledging loyalty to her. That is a sure thing to happen. What is uncertain is how many will jump ship.
The clan’s patriarch may have blazed the trail to public service for his children but Gwendolyn should be credited with expanding the family’s political dominance with her uncanny ability to strike alliances and excellent timing. The latter trait is best illustrated by her decision to support then presidential candidate Rodrigo Duterte in 2016, abandoning her partymate, Jejomar Binay.
Her last few months in office in 2013 were marred by a suspension and followed by the successive losses of two of her brothers to outgoing Gov. Junjun Davide in the gubernatorial race. With Duterte’s help, she’s back and from the looks of it, with a vengeance.
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It won’t be long. I will soon have water flowing from my faucets.
It has been raining during the last few days but Pagasa said it is too early to consider the hot and waterless season over. There are parameters, the weather bureau said, and these have not been met yet.
That is not going to discourage me. After what I’ve been through, I am confident that it cannot be any worse, at least this year. If it will take another two weeks, I will wait. I do not have a choice anyway.
But what happens when the summer months are over and water becomes available again? Will our sufferings be soon forgotten?
I am interested to know what the Metropolitan Cebu Water District plans to do to spare us from the agony that we had this summer when the next summer comes. I read somewhere that it is ready to start the expansion of one of its dams. Will we be able to see the dam completed before March next year? More importantly, will we be able to see the last of our waterless summers?