‘Cayetano planned his attack’
There was absolutely no doubt Alan Peter Cayetano, who is lagging behind in the surveys for vice presidential candidates, came prepared to attack rival candidate Sen. Bongbong Marcos in last Sunday’s Comelec-organized debate aired over CNN Philippines network. Even before Marcos could deliver his opening statement, a small group of hecklers started shouting, unfurling a banner. After an investigation, Marcos political strategists said the debate hecklers were suspected to have been paid by the Cayetano camp.
Many who watched the debate said of all the other candidates, Cayetano stood out for being the most aggressive and sarcastic, coming in strong and repeatedly interrupting the other candidates while they were still talking. Members of the Marcos camp said they were surprised at the “vituperative attack” from Cayetano since they were expecting the verbal arrows to come from the LP camp of Rep. Leni Robredo.
Bongbong must have felt like Julius Caesar with Cayetano acting like Brutus, knifing Senator Marcos from behind. Bongbong and Alan have been together in the Senate for several years and are both from the Nacionalista Party.
But according to political analyst Ramon Casiple, it has always been the style of Alan Peter to engage in verbal assault, but it’s “only for the moment” — which many take to mean that the timing is chosen for maximum political mileage. This was seconded by several observers who recalled the time when Cayetano also mounted an attack against then-presidential candidate Noynoy Aquino.
“The politician from Taguig is good at bringing people down to bring himself up,” a political observer said, expressing approval at the response of Chiz Escudero (who maintained his cool all throughout the debate) over the mudslinging and negative campaigning during the debate: “Hindi ko ugali na apakan ang ibang tao para itaas ang sarili; hindi ko ugali manira ng ibang
kandidato (It has never been my habit to bring down others just to raise myself up; I’m not in the habit of badmouthing other candidates).” With his unruffled demeanor, Chiz came across as well mannered and gentlemanly.
The fact is, Alan Peter Cayetano really has nothing to lose at this point since he is trailing behind Marcos who continues to emerge as the frontrunner in the latest Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey, getting 26 percent followed by Chiz Escudero at 21 percent, Robredo with 19 percent while Cayetano was at number four with 13 percent. Senators Gringo Honasan and Sonny Trillanes were both at last place with five percent each. As some people noted, the catch-up strategy of Cayetano is to go after Marcos who was recently endorsed by the Villar family as their candidate of choice – leaving Sonny Trillanes and Alan Peter — who are also both Nacionalista Party members — in the lurch, which was confirmed to us. The surging popularity of Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte – who came out on top in the latest SWS survey at 27 percent – does not seem to rub off on Alan Peter.
Among the candidates, the one who gained a lot of political mileage during the debate was Camarines Sur Rep. Leni Robredo who won many over with her parting shot, “may the best woman win.” Of all the six candidates, Leni Robredo seems to be the only one with no “Marcos” connection, so to speak. Alan Peter’s father, Rene “Compañero” Cayetano, used to be a partner in ACCRA during the 1970s and was tasked to coordinate with Enrile who eventually brought him in as partner at PECABAR (Ponce Enrile Cayetano Reyes Manalastas) law offices, even serving as deputy trade minister during the time of Marcos. On the other hand, Chiz’s father Salvador “Sonny” Escudero used to be agriculture minister under Marcos.
Having been a graduate of the Philippine Military Academy Class 1959, Antonio F. Trillanes Sr., the father of Sonny, served in the military during the martial law years as Navy captain. Gringo Honasan, of course, was an aide of then-Defense minister Juan Ponce Enrile and was one of those who had an active role during the 1986 EDSA Revolution. Incidentally, many expressed admiration for Senator Gringo Honasan who gave very practical and sound answers on such issues as traffic and congestion — which goes to show that experience can also come into play.