The political future of Governor Gwen and Mayor Mike
I am not an apostle of Nostradamus or an admirer of Madam Auring, but I can decipher the alignments of the stars in politics. There are only two Cebuano personalities who have the competence, credentials, clout, and credibility to run for senator in 2025. These two are destined to make sure that the five million Cebuanos are represented in the Senate: Governor Gwen Garcia and Mayor Michael Rama. Instead of bickering the two should hold hands.
For the longest time in Philippine history, Cebu has always had a senator or even two or three, from the time of Don Sergio Osmeña Sr., Don Filemon and Vicente Sotto, Don Mariano Jesus Cuenco, Don Vicente Rama, Don Manuel Briones up to the times of Serging Osmeña Jr., Sonny Osmeña, Marcelo Fernan, Serge Osmeña, Rene Espina, and Ernesto Herrera. Today, we have zero. Las Piñas, a microscopic city, has a mother and son. Taguig, a tiny city, has sister and brother, San Juan which is only a dot, has two half-brothers, the handsome one and the good one. Mindanao has five; Zubiri, Pimentel, Go, De la Rosa, and Tulfo. Cebu, the richest province, has zero.
This is unsolicited advice from a voice crying from the wilderness of the 7th District. Governor Gwen, if she is worried that her beloved Cebu may fall into the wrong hands, can ask Department of Tourism Secretary Christina Garcia Frasco to leave the Cabinet and run for governor. If she can make it in the national arena, why can she not lead the province? Frasco is a lawyer who graduated from Ateneo with flying colors. She made remarkable accomplishments as Liloan mayor, and has never been defeated like her mother. It’s time to leave now before Inday Sara resigns from DepEd. Remember that Frasco was the official spokeswoman of Sara.
Mayor Mike is building up the political career of his son lawyer Mikel. But he is too young to run for city mayor. He should first become city councilor and make his marks on his own merits. Congressman Edu Rama can carry the banner of the city. Another option is this: if the alliance between Rama and Vice Mayor Garcia remains strong, then he may allow Garcia to run for mayor and support his senatorial bid. I know that Mayor Mike will hate me for writing this and may charge of being lured by his enemies to ease him out of City Hall, but he is much bigger and more qualified beyond the mayorship of Cebu. And the country needs him especially since we have jokers in the Senate who need to learn first about law and lawmaking.
Instead of bickering against each other, the governor and the mayor should come together. This would only pleasantly surprise and even please their respective critics, detractors, and enemies, Governor Gwen and Mayor Mike should join forces and then hitch their wagons to the stars. The Senate can benefit immensely from the vast experience, wisdom, and brilliance of Senator Gwen in the area of local governance, community development, food production, disaster preparedness, and tourism. She can bring into the Senate the need to strengthen local autonomy and to give impetus to developing grassroots leadership of people and institutions. After the Senate, she can run for vice president and then for president.
Senator Mike Rama can review the law creating chartered cities and reexamine the need to allow city residents to vote in the province. He is also strong in labor laws especially in labor relations and labor standards. His experience in HR can enrich the institutional knowledge of the Philippine Senate of human capital development. He can put more strength and primacy to free collective bargaining, conciliation and mediation and, most especially, voluntary arbitration, over the archaic, highly legalistic, bureaucratic, dilatory, and antagonistic compulsory arbitration system. I have my own bias because I want to push for the repeal or revision of the Labor Code.
For the sake of Cebu and of the country, may I strongly urge Governor Gwen and Mayor Mike to strongly consider running for the Senate. I can gather a group of people who can constitute the core of their respective think tanks. I have a strong premonition that both of them will win. With due respect, it is my humble opinion that they are much better than more than half of the incumbents. I am willing to sign that under oath.