Political rivalries

No, this is not a discussion on the coming elections slated for 2013 although the jockeying has already started. Former Bácolod Councilor Greg Gasataya, for instance already has his picture and holiday greetings on tarpaulin breezing around the city. He is reportedly gunning for the post of vice mayor, that is if Councilor Homer Bais gives way.

The topic of political rivalry is the research work being done by seven college students of the University of St. La Salle, the subject for a thesis looking into the elements or factors in the political rivalries in Bácolod City. When I heard of this research work I was elated and puzzled, elated because of the fresh subject matter with my bias which is history,  and puzzled because this subject would take months to work on – the painstaking research, the consolidation of related matters and the writing for a presentation to a panel and the defense.

The seven students are Bernie Acosta, Christian Coloso, Meyett Dollosa, Josjo Eusebio, Benilde Tupas and Elaiza Varela. They are doing their thesis under the guidance of their adviser, Virgilio Aguilar. They belong to the Liberal Arts Political Science 4 class. I understand that they will have to defend their thesis by this term for a hopeful graduation by March. The full title of their thesis is “Bacolod’s Political Rivalries: An Examination of Local Political Culture.”

This is a very interesting thesis. I have not heard of one that goes directly into the political life or culture of the politicians in this city. The ramifications of their findings would be a new look at the political life of the city and the clash of the families, considering that the political history of this city had always hinged on the participation or intervention of the political families and landed elites, the so-called traditional politicians.

If the Greeks and Romans had their mythical clash of Titans, their ancient gods and goddesses, so also there was and is the clash of families and their subalterns and sidekicks and allies in Bácolod. As the Titans had their betrayals, suspicions, amorous relationships, treacheries, back-stabbings and loose alliances, the political families of Bácolod have theirs, including payoffs.

Since this is an academic study there is a presumption of scholarly work and the findings are assumed to be valid, credible and accurate. Of course, as in every research, the findings and the conclusions can be subject to challenge, but the strength of a scholastic research of this nature (qualitative) is its verifiable information, especially because the dramatis personae are well-known and familiar to us personally. Their rise and fall are familiar topics in top-rank restaurants and bars to the corner coffee shops and drinking holes, including air-conditioned shops and stool barbers by the sidewalk.

One major problem here would be documentation because a comprehensive history of Bacolod and the biographies of known politicians have not been written yet and no scholarly paper I know of has been written on them and their rivalries. There are few books, columns and articles here and there but nothing of academic work. These students therefore have taken a pioneering adventure.

There is mass of scattered information about these rivalries but the assiduous student must collect, pore over them and shift through and segregate propaganda from fact. The students have to exercise a lot of judiciousness and keener perception and ability to penetrate the layers of misleading data the politicians and their manipulators and operators lay over to protect their clients or undercut their rivals.  

This will be the biggest challenge to these student researchers who I hope will have that indomitable spirit and patience that prod researchers into uncharted courses to seek their facts and try to piece together small pieces of information to create a recognizable and understandable whole for our edification.

When they came to interview me I was at a loss because of the magnitude of the question: what is the political rivalry in Bácolod, who are the rivals and how do they operate? The answer would take hours and probably make enough materials for a book. But the students knew their topic and they limited the subject to manageable size. Political rivalry in Bácolod involves many people and a lot of elements that have to be dissertated to create links of the disparate facts.

I will not deal with the contents as I perceived from the thrust of their questions lest I intrude. Rather I would wait for the outcome as this will be an interesting thesis and will contribute to our history and understanding of the dynamics of Bacolod’s political rivalries, the relationships that caused these conflicts, the divisions of family loyalties and of course the outcomes.

I believe the students are finalizing their work, but I think that the data and their conclusions, with little retouching maybe,  ought to be published.*

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