Between the Cayetanos and the Gatchalians

If this were "A Tale of Two Cities", I would have presented a comparative analysis between Taguig, dominated by the Cayetanos, and Valenzuela, under the Gatchalians. But we’re comparing the legitimacy of the Senate presidency of Alan Peter Cayetano and Senate pro tempore and acting Senate President Sherwin Gatchalian.

We’re talking here of two political dynasties. The lawyers of Taguig and the businessmen of Valenzuela. The Cayetanos are now allied with the Dutertes, the Gatchalians with the Marcoses. One of them is a Cabinet member controlling DSWD. The election of Gatchalian as Senate president pro tempore is a strategic victory for the Gatchalians. The Cayetanos, even if there are two siblings in the Senate, are now on the defensive, with 12 senators supporting Win, while only 10 with Alan.

The Cayetanos are the royalty of Taguig. No other politicians could win against any of them or any of their anointed candidates. Last election, Alan and Pia, together with Lani, supported Ricardo Cruz, a non-Cayetano against their own younger brother Lino as Taguig 1st District representative. The House of Cayetano is a divided one, unlike the solid Gatchalian clan.

The Cayetanos started with the iconic, late Atty. Renato Compañero Cayetano, an underling of Juan Ponce Enrile. He was co-founder of the Ponce Enrile, Cayetano, Bautista, and Reyes (PECABAR) Law Firm. Rene married Sandra Schramm, the daughter of his landlady in Ann Arbor, Michigan, when he was taking his master’s degree in the University of Michigan. He became famous as a prosecutor in the Vizconde massacre.

The Cayetano children in the order of birth are Senator Pilar Juliana "Pia" Cayetano, Senator Alan Peter, followed by former Taguig Mayor Lino Edgardo, now general manager of the state-owned PTV 4 television network. The youngest is former Muntinlupa City councilor Rene Carl. The wife of Alan is Lani Lopez Cayetano, incumbent Taguig City City mayor. This family control and influence both Taguig City and Pateros. If the anti-political dynasty bill approved by the Lower House becomes a law, the Cayetano dynasty will be one of those adversely affected.

The Gatchalians are led by patriarch William, a business taipan controlling the country's plastic industry. The Wellex Group is one of the largest and the most diversified group of business conglomerates whose portfolio includes hotels (the Waterfront Group of Hotels and Resorts), real estate development including reclamation projects, and pelletized plastic raw materials production and distribution.

Sherwin Gatchalian is 52, single, and former Valenzuela City vice mayor, mayor, congressman, and a senator since 2016, educated in Grace Christian School in basic and secondary education, and a graduate of Boston University with a degree in Finance and Operations Management. His brother Kenneth, 50, a University of Texas graduate, is now the congressman representing Valenzuela’s 1st District. The Gatchalians are well educated in business, finance, and economics. The Cayetanos are in law, public administration, and showbiz.

Rexlon Gatchalian, 47, is a former congressman, mayor, and now Cabinet member as DSWD secretary. He finished basic and secondary education in Xavier High School, also a cum laude graduate of Political Science with allied studies in marketing and human psychology from George Washington University. He was involved in managing the Waterfront hotels and casinos before entering politics.

Weslie Gatchalian, 45, graduated from Xavier High School, UP, Bryant University, Oxford Brookes Business University, and London Metropolitan University, is the city mayor. Before joining politics, he was involved in the management of the Waterfront Hotels. Of all the Gatchalians, he is the most academically well-trained. He even took up a special course on legislation in the UP National College of Public Administration and Governance.

If the Cayetanos started with their iconic father Rene, who helped Lauro Vizconde prosecute the rapists and murderers of his wife and two daughters, the Gatchalians became famous of the Sara Balabagan rape and murder case. William Gatchalian donated $41,000 (150,000 United Emirates dirham) to 16-year old Sara Balabagan so that the latter could pay the blood money to the family of her employer whom she killed after the old man raped her.

Now the respective sons of Rene Cayetano and William Gatchalian are at the crossroads of history, fighting over the third-highest position of the land. I have always been an admirer of Compañero Rene, but this time I count myself on the side of William's son. Sherwin isn’t a lawyer but he has more moral fiber and is on the side of truth, justice, and rectitude.