Are the Duranos and the Davides compatible?  

The Davides have always been known in Cebu as the perfect gentlemen from the south, humble, low-key, unassuming, selfless and never haughty, much less arrogant. The Duranos, insofar as my own impression is concerned, have always been perceived as the rich guys from the north, always clever in the ways of the world, aligning themselves with the party in power in Malacanang and getting all the juicy favors. Don Ramon Durano collaborated with Marcos in 1969 to defeat a fellow Cebuano, Serging Osmena.

And so, now that Junjun Davide is running with Ace Durano, are these two really compatible? I don't think so. This looks to me, with due respect, as a hurriedly arranged tactical match, that is akin to a pre-arranged marriage, a political fusion for convenience, rather than for ideological compatibility. In the first place, Davide, a staunch Liberal Party pillar in Cebu, is committed to support vice president Leni Robredo for president. Ace Durano is related by blood to president Duterte, whose daughter mayor Inday Sara, is running as a team mate of Bongbong Marcos, son of the late dictator, whom Ace Durano's late lolo, Don Ramon,  supported all the way to defeat a fellow Cebuano, Serging Osmena in 1969.

The Davides is well known to fight dictators while the Duranos are proven to be allies of dominant parties. In the sixties and the seventies, a young brilliant UP graduate, a budding lawyer, Hilario G Davide Jr. was practicing law under the tutelage of another great lawyer from the south (Ronda and Argao) Francisco Emilio Famor Remotigue, who became governor. Davide Jr. ran for delegate to the 1972 constitutional convention, against the groups supported by the Duranos in Cebu. Davide won handily and he performed excellently in the convention. He never yielded to the whims and importuning of Marcos, who just declared martial law. All the time, the Duranos supported Martial law and their businesses thrived under the dictator. Davide fought martial law relentlessly.

Hilario G. Davide Jr. ran against the Marcos-Durano candidates in Cebu and won under the banner of Pusyon Bisaya, the only opposition party in the whole country that played a fiscalizing role in the Batasang Pambansa. Where was Durano all those times? He was "waltzing" with the dictator. Truth to tell, the Garcias (Noy Pabling and Noy Jesus, both bar topnotchers, brothers from Dumanjug and Barili) were also with the opposition. And so, how could Davide and Durano ever work together with this historical baggage at their backs? I do not think that the vice governor is different from his illustrious dad. Much less would I ever imagine that Ace would be a different species from the traditional Durano brand.

Junjun Davide is more compatible with Gwen Garcia, as the former SWU law professor Hilario G. Davide Jr. was very much compatible with the late, former SWU law dean Pabling Garcia. They fought for the same principles, they stood for the same ideals, they were practically of the same background. Noy Pabling was walking five kilometers one way from Bitoon to Dumanjug Central School, where he and my late father were classmates. Jun Davide was walking from Colawin to Argao Central School for many kilometers more. That was where my late mother walked too. They were struggling to get an education. Junjun and Gwen are what they are now because of the thousand walks that their fathers had to endure. Where were the Duranos then? I really do not know. But I am sure they never walked the way the Davides and the Garcias did.

And so, I submit, Your Honor, with due respect, that Ace and Junjun are not compatible. They have different backgrounds. They have different principles. They were molded differently. There is no way that we can have a better Cebu with such a marriage for convenience. Of course, Junjun will win. I really do not know about Ace. The last time I checked, Gwen is leading far, far away. And Junjun already won from the very beginning.