Cebu Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia quit the PDP-Laban because of her feud with Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama. In other words, the party has become too small for the two of them so she had to give way. “Recent events have made it clear that my continued membership is no longer tenable,” she wrote to the party president.
There is no word of relief or even just a hint of gratitude from the unintended beneficiary. Instead, Rama questioned Garcia’s loyalty to the party, saying that it was “long gone” before their recent conflict. The governor “never had any record of steady political principles,” he sneered.
Former Cebu City mayor Tomas Osmeña scoffs at the mention of loyalty, saying both Cebuano leaders are “birds of a feather (who) should flock together.” He must have been referring to Garcia’s decision to abandon former Makati Mayor Jejomar Binay in favor of Rodrigo Duterte weeks before the 2016 presidential election.
Rama, on the other hand, has not been loyal to at least two women in his life, and the Bando Osmeña Pundok Kauswagan (BOPK), according to Osmeña. “And we should pity Rama? Do you see tears in his eyes?”
Osmeña, Rama and Garcia are expected to figure prominently in next year’s elections. Rama is certain to seek reelection in the city, barring any unforeseen barrier; Osmeña has already announced his intention to run for vice mayor under Nestor Archival; and Garcia is expected to take one last and almost surely the easiest path in the history of the province to another three years at the Capitol.
Rama versus Garcia versus Osmeña. They may not be running for the same office but their rivalry will be the main feature in next year’s election. Against the backdrop of the simmering feud between the Duterte and Marcos camps, the 2025 campaign will be most interesting.
Osmeña’s BOPK has a record of running a campaign independently of a national party. Besides, he does not see eye to eye with both the incumbent and the former president. So finding a backer will be less an issue with him than with Rama and Garcia.
I see Rama casting his lot with Duterte. He has already indicated as much when he attended the anti-Marcos “prayer rally” in Cebu early this year, the only top local official to do so. He tried to explain his presence as a manifestation of his desire that the Unity government continued to be well, united. But who was he kidding?
Garcia will stick with Marcos. Otherwise, she would have demanded, okay, negotiated, the expulsion of Rama from PDP-Laban for committing an act inimical to the party’s interest in asking for her suspension. She instead chose to resign, effectively boxing out Rama from Malacañang while appearing magnanimous. She also has already made her choice.
Duterte and Marcos. Both won big in Cebu. Who between the governor and the mayor made the right choice of political ally?