Survival of the fittest

In a country where one rises through the ranks based on one’s wealth, family connections and (more recently) through exposure in showbiz and sports, one could only shrug and smile wryly over the wrangling between families in power.

Such is the case among the Duranos in Danao City, who have reigned in Cebu’s 5th district for so long that the Aquino administration saw it fit to  forge an alliance with them to prop up their chosen candidate’s bid for the Cebu provincial election.

We won’t get into the details of the feud between Mayor Ramon “Boy” Durano Jr. and Vice Mayor Ramon “Nito” Durano III.

It’s up to Danao voters, who know their track record, to ultimately decide who should sit as their mayor to look after their interests for the text three years  starting 2013.

President Benigno Aquino III’s visit to Danao to witness the signing of the alliance between the Cebu chapter of the Liberal Party (LP) and the Bakud  signified the obvious real score in Philippine politics.

That is, families who have stayed in power for a generation learn to survive by siding  with the administration.

That’s the case with the Duranos who have  ruled Danao politics since their patriarch, the late Ramon Durano Sr. was elected to Congress in 1949 and were staunch supporters of President Marcos  till his downfall in the 1986 Edsa Revolt.

They turned a cold shoulder to the reformist, revolutionary president  in Corazon Aquino and kept to themselves during the reign of Fidel Ramos.

But they hit it off with Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, and were rewarded by a Cabinet position when Ace Durano was appointed to head the tourism portfolio.

A falling out with GMA, which derailed plans for a senate run for Ace in 2010, has led them to this point.

With their temporary alliance with the Liberal Party, the vice mayor and his side of the clan  will have ensured themselves support from Manila for at least four more years.

Who would have thought the son of a faithful Marcos political lord  would swear allegiance to the son of the woman-president  who despised all that Marcos stood for?

In the end, politics is  a pragmatic decision of survival and victory