Lawyer Regal Oliva ran for representative of the lone district of Mandaue in the last elections. She lost to the incumbent.
Like any politician, she owed favors to many people including, and most especially, the Dutertes. Father and daughter endorsed her candidacy, their support likely the reason for her surprisingly strong challenge against Emmarie Ouano-Dizon.
In return, she was expected to keep the faith. So when she said something in her vlog that was not to the liking of the other Duterte faithful, all hell broke loose. She was ridiculed, insulted and condemned.
I was not aware of the offending vlog and the ensuing firestorm until Pam Baricuatro joined the fray. Here, I must quote her social media post for accuracy and impact: “Kahilas nimo yuts! Who do you think you are??? Tatay Digong Forever!”
That was definitely a low blow, and, coming from the highest official of the province of Cebu, it was quite disappointing. Even if she styles herself as the people’s governor, she owes herself and the province a certain level of circumspection.
The public expression of unwavering loyalty to someone is something that anyone can make any time, many times with nary a stir. “Tatay Digong forever!!!” was par for the course. The rest of the quote smacked of arrogance.
What irony. The issue of arrogance was one of the factors that drew the voters to Baricuatro over Gwendolyn Garcia. It is fair to say that the people expected her to be more humble and forgiving than Garcia, who was known for her temper and her habit of berating people who displeased her. Did we in fact elect a clone?
I hope not. I’d like to believe that losing her cool with Oliva was an aberration, that she is in fact, the ‘cool’ and unflappable Pam Baricuatro that we thought we saw during the campaign.
As for Oliva, she must have already realized that one has to resist erudition even at the slightest hint of being perceived disloyal; that trying to contribute to an intelligent discourse on a political issue is off-limits to one who owes political favors.