A pair of gloves for Joel and Dave

Iphoned Cebu City Councilor Joel Garganera yesterday to ask where he wants his pair of boxing gloves delivered. I also tried calling his colleague, Dave Tumulak, for the same purpose but he has apparently changed his number.

You see, both Joel and Dave are my friends and I do not want either one seriously hurt should they decide to conclude their unfinished business last Tuesday at the wake of Imok Rupinta and mix it up. In the end I decided against buying the gloves after Joel told me that barangay Tinago was known to be child-friendly during his term as village head so he was not going to fight Dave. Ahem.

Both Dave and Joel were barangay captains as was Rupinta so it was not surprising, apart from the fact that Joel and Imok were Barug party mates, that both would show up to honor a fallen colleague. What was unexpected was how easily a simple remark could result in a heated exchange.

It all started, according to an eyewitness account, when Joel spotted Dave on his way out of the Ermita gym where Imok’s body lies, and remarked “Puntos Mayor.” Dave apparently thought that Joel had called him the mayor’s stooge and retaliated with some colorful language of his own addressed to Joel. The two then traded barbs and dares but were pacified by cooler heads before either one could throw a punch.

Joel admitted that while indeed he was ribbing Dave when he said “Puntos Mayor,” the remark had nothing to do with Dave’s relationship with Tommy Osmena. Dave was in a group of men who were playing either cards or mahjong when he saw him, Joel claimed, which was why he called him “puntos mayor,” a term that gamblers use to describe a high roller.

Boys will always be boys, even grown-up men who happen to be public officials. I have not planned on writing about the non-fight; there are bigger fish to fry and more urgent issues like RevGov to dissect. But the incident is the first known manifestation of the undercurrent of malaise that everyone knows afflicts the council but which everyone has tried to hide or ignore.

This uneasiness is not likely to disappear, not for as long as there is no clear majority in the council and for as long as the the administration and the opposition continue to raid the other’s ranks. Dave ran and won with Barug but declared himself independent before eventually confirming that he has joined the BOPK. Turncoatism is a fact of political life in this country but the lack of candor that attended Dave’s defection may have upset his Barug colleagues.

It did not help that Dave has become one of Osmena’s more active and more prominent allies. It is therefore not farfetched that prior to his verbal tussle with Joel, Dave has heard disparaging remarks thrown his way and the misconstrued (at least according to Joel) “puntos mayor” comment was the last straw. Either that or, as Joel charged, Dave just feels guilty.

One of these days, the parties will probably announced that the quarrel has been settled and all is well between Joel and Dave again. I will not be surprised if one or both of them will claim that the incident has been overblown. They won’t be fooling anyone, however. We will believe them only if Dave will return to Barug or Joel joins him in BOPK. Now tell me if that is possible.