“In our age, there is no such thing as ‘keeping out of politics.’ All issues are political issues, and politics itself is a mass of lies, evasions, folly, hatred, and schizophrenia.” –George Orwell

Based on the results of the recent midterm elections, three Iloilo City political clans have clinched major city government portfolios. These victories offer local residents a window into seeing which of these political families will dominate the city over the next two years.

Ganzon
The descendants of Rodolfo ‘Roding’ Ganzon include Iloilo City Vice Mayor Jeffrey Ganzon, who cemented his hold on the city’s second-highest post; while the vice mayor’s son, Rudolf, garnered the third-highest vote count for the City Council.
In addition, Rudolf’s younger brother, Gerald, is expected to hop on the bandwagon in 2022.
If all three are elected to citywide posts in the next elections, they will be a formidable team.

Baronda
The real threat to the Ganzon clan are the Baronda sisters: Iloilo City lone district Representative-elect Julienne ‘Jam-Jam’ Baronda and City Councilor Julie Grace ‘Love-Love’ Baronda. The latter received the most votes among candidates for the local legislative body.
The congresswomen-elect is the first female elected to represent the city in Congress and, at 40 years old, she can still seek another term—and perhaps run for mayor. Her sister, meanwhile, can run for vice mayor, or another higher office.
A fierce political rivalry between the Ganzons and the Barondas is foreseeable in the near future.
In addition, while Iloilo City Mayor-elect Jerry Treñas is without any children currently in city politics, his nephew, Jay Treñas, came in fourth for City Council.
The family of former Justice Secretary Raul M. Gonzalez has been unable to bring forth any political genius since his passing in 2014 Both his son, Raul, Jr., and wife, Pacita, have suffered one setback after another in local elections. The latter’s latest loss came at the hand of Treñas in the race for mayor.
Former National Youth Commission (NYC) executive director, Dr. Nielex Tupas, who also previously served as a city councilor, is “out of kulambo” after opting out of running against Baronda for congress. However, Dr. Candice Tupas is carrying on the family name after winning a seat on the City Council.
The Tupas clan had the potential to compete for political dominance but the former NYC chief opted to “preserve” a good relationship with the Baronda in exchange for what could have been another political conquest in the last elections.

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Alex P. Vidal, who is now based in New York City, used to be the editor of two local dailies in Iloilo./WDJ