Governor Gwen's ever-loyal city and towns

When all is said and done, both victors and vanquished should start to count the nuggets of wisdom they must have gathered from that electoral combat.

- Atty. Josephus B. Jimenez

They should also start counting the cities and towns that remained loyal to them no matter what.

In Dumanjug, outgoing Governor Gwendolyn Garcia was credited with 23,959 votes while Pam Baricuatro got only 8,254. Mayor Gungun Gica and Vice Mayor Wado Gica, my nephews, delivered as promised. That was a far cry compared to the time when the Gicas supported Agnes Magpale against Gwen. In Tabogon, Gwen edged out Pam with a slim plurality of 12,130 compared to 11,184. These two towns were allegedly "rewarded" after the election with a reported "downloaded allocation" from the Capitol. This still has to be verified.

The outgoing and suspended governor comes from the south, specifically from the towns of Dumanjug and Barili where the incumbent mayor is her nephew John John Garcia and the congressman is her younger brother, Bar topnotcher Pablo John Garcia. But the south gave her opponent a resounding win and herself a sad defeat. This is an intriguing phenomenon very difficult to comprehend, given the fact that Gwen, a hardworking local executive, has given so much help to the south.