Are the Binays of Makati compatible with the Garcias in Cebu?

The announcement by gubernatorial candidate Winston Garcia that the Garcia family of Dumanjug and Barili, as well as the One Cebu Team are supporting the presidential bid of Vice President Jejomar Binay has not been totally unexpected by many, although some eyebrows have been raised in the political circles in Cebu. But that is how the cookie crumbles. It is well and good that the cat is finally out of the bag. It has been quite awhile that the Garcia camp has been undecided on which presidential bet to carry. Winston was seen attending the proclamation rites of Senator Grace Poe in the UP Diliman campus and so pundits were speculating that Poe was Garcia's choice. Now that it is Binay, the Cebuanos can say that Garcia and Poe might not be compatible. But the big question now is: How about Binay and Garcia?

It is widely known that the Garcias were closely intertwined with former president now Pampanga Representative Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, and they carried Gibo Teodoro in 2010. At that time, Binay was with the Erap camp. And Erap almost defeated Nonoy Aquino. Gibo was a big loser. Now, Binay and Garcia are entering into a political marriage, which many are seeing to be a marriage of convenience. It is a marriage that many Cebuanos consider as a marriage of temporary expediency, and principles, platforms, and values may not have anything to do about it. At the height of the GMA administration, the governor was Winston's sister Gwendolyn. His father, Pabling was congressman of the undivided second district. And for a time, Pablo John was congressman representing the third district. Winston was the king of GSIS, the government's designated director of San Miguel. Binay was allegedly persecuted by GMA.

Now the darlings of GMA are together with the nemesis. In Philippine politics, anything can happen, even the unthinkable. The late senate president Amang Rodriguez used to say that politics is addition. You don't have to love your allies, as long as they can make you win the elections. After the polls, you can resume hating each other again. The late president Elpidio Quirino was qouted to have said: In politics, there are no permanent friends nor permanent enemies, but only permanent self-interests. Whatever it takes to advance one's self-interests could be and should be swallowed. In this country politics with principles does not win the polls.

Perhaps, there are convergences between the Binays and the Garcias. The Binays in Makati are the best example of a political dynasty. The father is vice president, the mother was a former mayor and congresswoman. The son was a suspended mayor. One daughter is an incumbent senator. The other daughter is a congresswoman, now running for mayor. I do not know about the grandchildren, They may be too young to run. The Garcias used to control the province, the second and the third district. A Garcia is running for congressman in the new seventh district, aside from another brother as incumbent mayor of Dumanjug, running for reelection, and another running in Barili. Anything wrong with that?

It can be argued that there is nothing wrong with that. Anyway, they are elected by the people. Even if another Garcia scion is married to a mayor in the north, and more Garcias will still be running in the future. That is their perfect right. Anyone and everyone can do that; if they have the money, the organization and the wherewithal. The Garcias and the Binays are not alone on this. There were the Osmeñas and the Cuencos, the Duranos, and the Kintanars before. There are the Martinezes in Bogo, the Gullases in the first and the Ouanos in Mandaue. And so, the Garcias and the Binays have a lot of precedents to cite and invoke.

But then again, going back to the question: are the Garcias compatible with the Binays. Well, may be yes, and may be no. But in the rough edges of Philippine politics, compatibility may be immaterial. If the Osmeñas during the time of Serging were able to achieve a fusion with the Cuencos during the time of Don Miguel and Don Mariano Jesus, there is nothing that can prevent Winston Garcia from entering into an alliance with Jojo Binay. The Garcias can deliver the votes, and the Binays can bring the billions of funding.               Elections are very expensive. In the villages and in the precinct levels, where the rubber hits the road, the ward leaders would not ask about principles or platforms. Their question is simple: Where is the money? And that is how the cookie crumbles.