How did both southerners Garcia and Davide conquer the north?
In history and in geography, I learned that the north is always richer and more powerful than the south. The ruling class always holds fort in the north, and the south is always the refuge of the oppressed, the exploited, and the working class.
In the least elections, we saw two candidates from the north pitted against two bets from the south. Gwendolyn Garcia from Dumanjug challenged Agnes Magpale from the north for governor. And Daphne Salimbangon from the north's Fourth District also challenged Hilario Davide III from the south's Second District. The results show that the north was beaten by the south. Both bets from the south, Gwen and Junjun, won handily over the north's aspirants. To us, from the south, there is an imaginary 39th parallel that divides the richer north and the poorer south. And not all of us believe there should only be one Cebu. Someday, the lines shall be drawn.
If we really think about it, there are only two of the seven districts that can be considered the south. These are the Second District composed of ADABOSS (Argao, Dalaguete, Alcoy, Boljoon, Oslob, Santander, and Samboan) and the Seventh District composed of DRAMMBAG (Dumanjug, Ronda, Alcantara, Moalboal, Malabuyoc, Badian, Alegria and Ginatilan).
All the rest comprise the north. And these districts were all won by Gwen. Davide, also from the south (Argao) won in the north except only in the fourth, the bailiwick of his opponent.
The north covers the first, third, fourth, fifth, and sixth districts. The first includes the cities of Carcar, Naga, and Talisay, and the towns of Sibonga, San Fernando, and Minglanilla. The third includes Barili, Aloguinsan, Pinamungajan, Toledo City, Balamban, Asturias, and Tuburan. The fourth comprises Bogo City, Bantayan, Daanbantayan, Madridejos, Medellin, San Remegio, Tabogon, Tabuelan, and the island of Sta. Fe. The fifth includes Danao City and the towns of Borbon, Carmen, Catmon, Compostela, Liloan, and Sogod. Included in the fifth are the island towns of Pilar, Poro, San Francisco, and Tudela. The sixth covers Consolacion, Cordova, and Mandaue City.
Gwen won in the First District, thanks to the strong support of incoming congressman Eddie Gullas, the unquestioned kingpin of the biggest and the richest of all seven districts, and the most populous at that. Gwen also won in the Third District, her own district as she comes from Barili aside from being from Dumanjug. Gwen is the only one with two towns and two districts.
Garcia won over Magpale in the fourth and fifth districts, as well as in the sixth. This is painful for Magpale because she is from the fifth. Davide won in the first district and the third too. He only lost to Salimbangon in the Fourth District because it is controlled by Daphne's father, Benhur, the highly respected and much-loved incumbent congressman. Magpale's and Davide's trusted leader in that district, Junie Martinez, could only have them win in Bogo City.
At the end of the day what led to Gwen's victory was her superior logistics, better organization, more strategic campaign, and the support of President Duterte. What made Davide win was his clean record and his humble and amiable ways, his humility, sincere approach to public service, and human relations. I salute both Gwen and Junjun. I am happy for both of them and I am proud to be a southerner like them.
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