The old politics of the Osmeñas and the Cuencos  

Today's politics in Cebu is boring, lacking in luster and excitement, and even obnoxious and deplorable at times. And if I may say so, today's breed of politicians are mediocre and jokers. To borrow that famous line from the movie “Bituing Walang Ningning”, our trapos today are "nothing but second-rate, trying-hard copycats."

I miss the politics of the pre-Martial Law fifties and sixties. There was a time in Cebu's political history when the province became the arena of perennial battles between two opposing family dynasties: the Osmeñas, led by Don Sergio Sr., and the Cuencos, headed by Don Mariano Jesus. The Cebuanos were divided into two camps—the Osmeñistas of the Nacionalista Party and the Cuencistas of the Liberal Party.

Don Sergio was born in Cebu City on September 9, 1878. He finished law at UST (the school of the elite) and placed fourth in the 1903 Bar Examinations. Don Mariano Jesus was born in Carmen, Cebu, on January 16, 1888. He finished law at the Escuela de Derecho, a school for working students later named the Manila Law College, where I now teach. He passed the Bar in 1913. Osmeña was 10 years older than Cuenco.

Don Sergio was Cebu governor at age 26, congressman at age 28, and Speaker of the House at age 29, a post he held until he was 44. He became a senator and Senate President Pro Tempore at age 44, vice president at age 57, and president in 1944, when he was already 66. When he was defeated by his friend Manuel Roxas in 1946, he came home to Cebu and lived peacefully until his death in 1961 at the ripe age of 83.

Don Mariano Jesus Cuenco was elected congressman of Cebu's Fifth District from 1912 to 1928, serving continuously for 16 years or four consecutive terms. The old Fifth District comprised the 10 towns of Alcantara, Moalboal, Badian, Malabuyoc, Alegria, Ginatilan, Samboan, Santander, Oslob, and Boljoon. Nobody could win against the Cuencos in that district. Cuenco ran for governor of Cebu in 1928 and 1931 and won both times.

Cuenco was elected senator in 1941 but was prevented from serving because of the Japanese occupation of the Philippines. He was reelected to the Senate in 1946 and later served as Senate President that same year. His rivalry with another Visayan, Jose Avelino of Samar, gave rise to the landmark Avelino vs. Cuenco case, which became a precedent often invoked in contemporary Senate squabbles.

Cuenco lost in 1951, along with the Liberal Party's debacle amid massive issues against President Elpidio Quirino. But Cuenco ran again in 1953 and 1959 and won both times. He served as senator until his death in 1964. The Liberal Party of Cuenco and the Nacionalista Party of Osmeña were always at odds, resulting in many incidents of alleged terrorism, massive vote-buying, and election cheating.

Even in business, the Osmeñas were at odds with the Cuencos. The Osmeñas owned and operated Cebu's leading bus transport system, the Autobus Lines, while the Cuencos ran and managed the Bisaya Land Transport. The rivalries were so intense that there were times when families feuded against families and clans against clans.

When Don Sergio died in 1961 and Don Mariano Jesus died in 1964, the next generation found it fitting to coalesce and merge, leading to the historic Osmeña-Cuenco Fusion. When the Osmeñas and the Cuencos fused, they found a new political rival: Don Ramon Durano, the kingpin of Danao.

Durano, in coalition with congressmen Isidro Kintanar of the Fifth District, covering Sibonga to Alcoy; Manuel Zosa of the Sixth District, from Toledo down to Ronda; and Tereso Dumon of the Seventh District, from Balamban to Daanbantayan—along with Durano's own First District, from Liloan to the Camotes Islands—formed the Durano-Zosa-Dumon-Kintanar alliance that defeated Serging Osmeña in his fight against Marcos in 1969. But that is another story.

Today, there is no more Osmeña, except Tomas; no more Cuenco; and no more Durano, except in Danao. The Gen Zs are here to slay the Goliaths of history. AI is eliminating the dinosaurs of old. Our trapos today do not inspire respect; some bring only exasperation to our lives and vexation to our yearnings for serenity and inspiration. A number of them are even abominations to our daily lives.