Noynoy or Gibo? Tarlac torn between Cojuangco cousins

PANIQUI, Tarlac - Miguel Cojuangco Rivilla is torn. Sitting on a black high-backed chair inside his spacious office, the bespectacled 41-year-old mayor of Paniqui town in Tarlac looks pensive as he struggles to answer the question: whose side is he on, Noynoy's or Gibo's? "Probably there will come a point in time that a decision will have to be made," Rivilla says, not missing a beat, although one can sense he is choosing his words carefully. "You know what, probably it will come during election time, or probably during the day of the election itself, where, eeny meeny miny moe na lang kaya?" "You just can't go wrong with both of them," he adds. The dilemma of Rivilla, who is second cousin to both Senator Benigno "Noynoy" Cojuangco Aquino III of the oppositionist Liberal Party and former defense secretary Gilberto "Gibo" Cojuangco Teodoro Jr. of the administration's Lakas-Kampi-CMD, epitomizes how the impending political battle between the two presidential aspirants has split Tarlac, the cradle of the Cojuangco clan. Even though Tarlac is far from being an elite vote-rich province, obtaining the endorsement of local officials like Rivilla can enable either candidate to brag that the other can’t even win in his own province. But while the people of Tarlac are torn only because they're going to have to choose between two Tarlaqueños, Rivilla's dilemma goes deeper. A grandson of Antonio Cojuangco Sr., Rivilla comes from the branch of the Cojuangco clan that has remained more or less above the fray of the famous feuds between descendants of Antonio's two brothers--Eduardo "Endeng" Cojuangco Sr. and and Jose "Pepe" Cojuangco Sr. Endeng is the father of business tycoon Eduardo "Danding" Cojuangco Jr. and Mercedes, Gibo's mother; Pepe is the father of Jose "Peping" Cojuangco Jr. and Corazon--Noynoy's mother, the icon of the People Power Revolution. So it does seem to continue the tradition of his side of the clan that Rivilla -- a first-term mayor who ran in 2007 under his uncle Danding's Nationalist People's Coalition (NPC) – is noncommittal and speaks gingerly about his cousins’ rivalry. "It's very difficult to comment because if you comment on it and then suddenly it comes out, 'o si ganito, ganyan na (this person is already for this candidate)," says Rivilla. The youngest among seven children, Rivilla says he wasn't as close as his older siblings were to the 45-year-old Gibo or to Noynoy, who will turn 50 in two months. But he says he got to know them better when he joined them in politics. "They know our position. We want to remain as neutral as can be, especially with the two of them, the presidentiables," he says. "Probably with the others (candidates), yes, we can make a stand but right now, especially myself, I just want to remain neutral." Battling for the districts Rivilla believes that the rest of the province is as divided as he is. According to the Paniqui mayor, Tarlac would probably be split 50-50 or 60-40 between Gibo and Noynoy. The two served as congressmen of the province's first and second district, respectively, from 1998 to 2007. Quite predictably, much of the first district is likely to go for Gibo; his wife Nikki is the incumbent congresswoman there. The second district, meanwhile, would probably root for Noynoy. But votes for the two candidates will probably be divided in the last district, Rivilla says. Concepcion, the hometown of Noynoy's father, the martyred senator Benigno "Ninoy" Aquino, is in the third district. Right beside the Concepcion municipal hall, which is only a few blocks away from the Aquino ancestral home, is a huge yellow sign expressing the town's purported support for Noynoy. But town mayor Rey Catacutan of Capas, which is also in the third district, is a known Gibo supporter who heads the league of mayors in the province. He may be able to rally other local executives around the former defense chief, Rivilla says. Ultimately, says Rivilla, the political showdown between Noynoy and Gibo will likely be determined by the Tarlaqueños' old loyalties to the original feuding cousins, Danding and Peping, who ran for Congress against each other in the 1960s and whose rivalry reached fever pitch when they found themselves on opposite sides of the political fence during the Martial Law era. Danding was a close associate, and one of the original cronies, of former president Ferdinand Marcos. Peping was the brother-in-law of Marcos’ archrival Ninoy, who had married his sister Cory. "For quite some time, the politics here in the province of Tarlac has always been, there's a political faction for Peping-Cory and a political faction for Danding," Rivilla says. "So I think the entry [of Noynoy into the presidential race] rekindled some party affiliations with a certain Cojuangco family." Cojuangco vs Cojuangco...again "Here we go again" was the first thought that crossed Rivilla's mind when Noynoy announced his presidential bid because two Cojuangco cousins would square off for the same post again--only this time, it's for the highest position in the land. "The ones that are affiliated with the Peping and Cory family, basically those votes which probably would've gone straight to Secretary Teodoro will go to him (Noynoy). But the ones with the Danding [faction] will probably remain with Secretary Teodoro," Rivilla says. Rivilla dismisses speculation that there is a "gap" between Gibo and Danding after the former left the NPC to court the Lakas-Kampi-CMD's nod as standard bearer. "They say there's a gap? I haven't heard it from Secretary Teodoro, I haven't heard it straight from the mouth of Uncle Danding. So hearsay, sabi-sabi lang yan (that's just speculation)," he says. [See next page] However, talk is rife around the province that Gibo’s mother Mercedes, Danding’s youngest sister, will be running for Congress against Danding’s preferred candidate, their own sibling Henry, in the first district. According to Gibo, his wife Nikki will not be running in 2010 to help him in his campaign. If that scenario unfolds, 2010 will not just see a political contest between Cojuangco cousins Noynoy and Gibo, but also Cojuangco siblings Mercedes and Henry. Family ties While political rivalries within the same family are not unique in the Philippines, it is less common than dynastic clans backing the same candidate. The Cojuangcos have been influential in politics for so long, rival parties have been formed around them. Two of Danding’s sons, Mark and Charlie, have also served in Congress. But according to Rivilla, belonging to different political parties has never stopped them from being a "family." "There are times we [only] see each other during funerals and whatnot because the clan is just really big," he says. "But you will see those times when we see each other there... everybody talks to each other." In his book "Boss Danding," journalist Earl Parreño attests to the Cojuangcos' continued personal relations despite their political clashes. He says that while the Jose and Eduardo branches "intensely compete" for political positions in Tarlac and manage separate businesses, they still meet every once in a while. "The feuding Cojuangcos nevertheless maintain lines of communication that, from time to time, have proven useful to any family member in dire need. Representatives of feuding branches would reportedly meet once a year to thresh out 'urgent family problems'," Parreño writes. This "peculiar relationship" was probably the decisive factor that paved the way for Danding’s return to the country during Cory's administration, he adds. "There's always been respect amongst all the Cojuangcos," Rivilla says. "There's nothing wrong, especially at the personal level. Politically probably, they're affiliated to different political parties, different ideologies, different beliefs. But I think it's all political." Is it possible, then, for Danding to throw his support behind both Noynoy and Gibo? "I think it's very very possible. At the end of the day family ‘yan e." Rivilla says. The Danding Factor Danding, the chairman of San Miguel Corp. and the seventh richest man in the Philippines, can certainly boost either presidential aspirant's campaign with funds and machinery, as he is also chairman emeritus of the NPC.

The pictures at the top and bottom of the deck show the two ancestral houses of the Cojuangcos inside the YC Compound in Paniqui. A monument of Martin Co, a Cojuangco ancestor, stands between the two houses. Photos by Jam Sisante. The photo in the middle, meanwhile, was taken sometime in the early 1900s. It shows some members of the Cojuangco family along with local politicians from various parts of Tarlac. Photo from Gerardo Chichioco.

But Danding himself has kept mum on the issue, refusing to issue a statement on the candidacy of his two nephews. And even though NPC vice presidential bet Senator Loren Legarda has decided to team up with Nacionalista Party standard-bearer Senator Manuel Villar Jr., NPC members say the decision was only Legarda's own and that the party itself has yet to decide whom they will support for president next year. Danding's employees in Paniqui are still waiting for his advice on whom to vote for president next year, according to Gerardo "Patdo" Chichioco, a distant relative of the Cojuangcos who works on the managerial staff of the Danding-owned Northern Cement Corp. "So far wala pang advice sa 'min kung sino iboboto namin. Ang hinihintay lang namin na abiso yung kay Don Eduardo (So far we have not received any advice on who to vote for. We're just waiting for that, the advice of Don Eduardo)," says Chichioco. Chichioco is the village chief of Brgy. Matalapitap in Paniqui, where the Cojuangco clan's sprawling ancestral estate called the YC Compound is located. "YC" stands for Ysidra Cojuangco, the aunt of Endeng, Pepe, Antonio, and their other brother Juan. The "four brothers" -- as they are called around here -- built the Cojuangco fortune in the 1920s together with their aunt by setting up the Paniqui Sugar Mill, among other businesses. They lived together in the YC compound's two large houses, both of which are now uninhabited. A section of one of the houses now serves as an office for Northern Cement. Danding still visits the place around once a month to check up on operations, Chichioco says. But the business tycoon did not reveal his preferred presidential bet during his last visit a few weeks ago. Chichioco himself seems to prefer Gibo for president. The 50-year-old barangay captain says he and the former defense chief have known each other since they were kids. Gibo even had a small house built inside the compound, he says, where the administration standard bearer stayed with Nikki when he was still congressman. "Si Gilbert approachable na tao, mabait yan (Gilbert is an approachable person, he is very kind)," Chichioco says. "Kahit ano kinakain niyan, nagluluto siya (He eats anything, and he cooks as well)." But he acknowledges that Gibo may not have the solid backing of the province, saying, "Kung sa Tarlac lang, mahahati talaga (Tarlac will really have a split vote)." Either way, Rivilla says, most Tarlaqueños are just ecstatic about the possibility that the next president would come from their province: "I think the mindset is that just as long as a Cojuangco wins, just as long as a Tarlaqueño wins, that's the most important." - HS/YA, GMANews.TV