EDITORIAL - Prudence, not courage

It is simply incredible to see how long it has taken Cebu vice governor Gregorio Sanchez to realize that he is in a no-win situation in his ongoing quarrel with Cebu governor Gwendolyn Garcia.

If the quarrel is rooted in something personal, then it does not look good for a man, especially a gentleman like him, to sustain a quarrel with a woman, more so if that quarrel is so public as it is now.

Not that the governor is being disadvantaged by being a woman. It is simply that society, for whatever basis that it has come to be so in its attitudes, always frowns on any man-woman quarrel. Gender issues notwithstanding, something just doesn’t come naturally in that.

Now, if the quarrel is rooted in something else, most likely in politics, then the more that Sanchez is greatly disadvantaged. We are not saying that he should capitulate. But he has to be realistic enough to realize that the fight right now is simply tilted in Garcia’s favor.

Garcia is the governor. And she is no ordinary governor at that. She not only wields tremendous power, she shows no hesitation to use it. Her family controls large areas of Cebu and she herself has the numbers in key positions that matter.

On the other hand, Sanchez is almost all by his lonesome. There is no way he can win his fight, at least not at this time. If he has any future political aspiration at all, the best thing for him to do is to cut his losses while he still can.

To be sure, it is not easy to lick his wounds, especially if they have been inflicted in a fight with a woman. But as the Good Book says, pride always comes before the fall. Sanchez must let go of his pride if he wants to survive.

Sanchez is mistaken if he thinks Garcia is now a lame duck simply because she is serving out her third and final term as governor. He must remember that Gwen is not the only Garcia in town. What Sanchez needs right now is not courage but prudence.