The newly-elected governor, the dragon lady from Bitoon, Dumanjug, and from the Third District, representative and erstwhile Deputy House Speaker Gwendolyn Fiel Garcia expressed joy in her victory but also sadness in the defeat of her running mate, Daphne Salimbangon. By strange coincidence, that precisely is also the predicament of newly-elected vice governor, Hilario Davide III, the lamb from Colawin, Argao. Junjun, as we fondly call him in the Second and Seventh districts, was, of course, happy and grateful to the Cebuano voters for giving him a landslide victory, over his opponent. But the newly-elected vice governor is quite sad and regretful that his much-esteemed candidate for governor, Agnes Almendras Magpale, lost to Gwen. Well, that is how the cookie crumbles. All is fair in love and politics.
The question Cebuanos now want answered is: Can Junjun work well with Gwen? Or, can Gwen work effectively with Junjun? I tell you, after all the nasty issues that each camp threw at each other, after all the legal issues raised and all the attacks and the accusations hurled against each other, this is a hard nut to crack. It is not easy because both are humans. They were both hurt and need time to heal, forgive, reconcile, forget, and to move on as professionals. The people, of course, demand that they should set aside their personal feelings and rise to the occasion, to act in the best interest of the province and its people.
The governor, of course, is the chief executive of the province. She determines the course of the province's social and economic development in the next three years. She supervises the city and municipal mayors within the province's territorial jurisdiction. She appoints provincial officials and personnel. She also controls the budget and the allocation of resources. But all these have to be supported by the provincial legislative body which, by law, is headed by the vice governor. The governor and the vice governor have to work together in a professional and official manner. They may not be affectionate to each other, for we cannot legislate affections. But they need to work together as a team.
Gwen, of course, does not look at Junjun with positive affections. Davide already defeated two of Gwen's younger brothers. First, Davide won in 2013 over Pablo John, the Bar topnotcher who is now the elected representative of the Third District. That left the Garcias with no love lost for the Davides. Second, Junjun defeated Winston in 2016, and that was a major debacle for the Garcias, at the same time Pablo John lost to Peter John Durano Calderon in the Seventh District. Thus, it is not easy to heal the wounds of spite and bitterness. But since they both love Cebu Province, the people expect them to be mature enough to work harmoniously.
I have written earlier that Davide is from Venus and Gwen is from Mars. The two have different and opposing personalities. Gwen is fire and Junjun is water. Garcia is thunder and Davide is lightning. Gwen is a storm and Junjun is a breeze. There is a need to find a modus vivendi where the two can find a win-win solution to Cebu's problems and challenges. I wish both of them all the best.