Nestor and Pam, demolishing dynasties

Like Don Quijote de la Mancha and Sancho Panza, demolishing the windmills of trapos and political dynasties, Nestor Archival, straight from the mountains, has conquered the city, and Pam, all the way from the marginal edges of Pinamungajan, marched her way to the Capitol, without shining armor and demolished the dragon lady and claimed victory as the peoples' governor.

Indeed, one of the collateral gains in Cebu in the last election was the common rejection by Cebu Province and Cebu City of the political dynasty of the Garcias in the province and the Ramas and Garcias in Cebu City. It was historic, trailblazing, and stunning to say the least. No political pundit expected it. Not even Nestor and Pam themselves.

The monumental victory of Pamela Baricuatro as the twenty-seventh governor of the premier province of Cebu was, to a large extent, indeed, the victory of the people. It is so trailblazing and a historic milestone in the political history of this province. What matters most is that it was a rejection of the family dynasties of the Garcias.

The former governor, Gwen Garcia, enjoyed all the advantages like superior funding, logistics, political organization, and above all, the all-out support of the president and the speaker, all the seven congressmen of the province plus the congressmen from Cebu City and Lapu-Lapu City. Gwen was supported by all 48 municipal mayors, and all the three highly-urbanized city mayors, including Cebu, Mandaue, and Lapu-Lapu. Garcia also enjoyed the support of the city mayors of Talisay, Naga, Carcar, Toledo, and Bogo. Only the city mayor of Danao supported Pam.

And yet, Baricuatro won overwhelmingly in all the cities and towns in the 1st District, the most vote-rich congressional district in Cebu. On top of all the far-reaching implications, I would like to highlight that such a stunning victory was not only a rejection of Gwen as a politician and as a person. It was, above all, a rejection of the Garcia dynasty. The first district has also been dominated by the Gullas dynasty. But the Gullas brand is loved by the people. On the contrary, the Cebuanos have started to be turned off by the Garcias.

There was a time when the congressman of the 2nd District was Noy Pabling Garcia, PJ Garcia was congressman of the third, Gwen was the governor, and the mayor of Dumanjug was Nelson and of Barili was Marlon. It was too much. Gwen's dynasty extended to Liloan with her daughter as mayor then and her son-in-law the congressman of the 5th District. The peoples' silent abhorrence against monopoly of power reached its boiling point in the last elections.

They were not content. They disempowered Vice Governor Davide by removing his right to participate actively in legislation. That was an overkill. Junjun Davide, that overly tolerant and self-effacing good boy, and son of Chief Justice Davide and educator Madam Gigi Perez Davide, was so submissive to Gwen that he allowed the office of the vice governor to be mangled by the board members controlled by the governor's party. Now, I doubt if Pam will do that to Glenn Soco.

In Cebu City, Nestor Archival is also an outsider, an underdog who does not carry the high privileges of the elite brand names of Rama, Garcia, Cuenco, or Osmeña. Nestor is a son of a farmer and a teacher. He is truly a man of the masses. He is like Ramon Magsaysay who was a mechanic who defeated a rich lawyer and incumbent president, Elpidio Quirino. Although Nestor is a hoi polloi, his godfather is Tommy Osmeña who still enjoys the trust of many Cebuanos. Now, Tommy will have to listen to Nestor. Sancho Panza is now Don Quixote.

That is why I am very happy that people are starting to get sick and tired of the same family names, the same elite brands that seem to monopolize power, money, and influence. The victory of Pam and Nestor is a breath of fresh air in a highly-polluted political arena of dynastic stench and decay. These are positive signs that give hope to the ordinary men and women who were not born with silver spoons. Pam and Nestor are heaven-sent in a world which has become too dominated by trapos and dynasties that have exceeded the bounds of the peoples' tolerance.