Between the Cayetanos and the Gatchalians

If this were "A Tale of Two Cities", I would have presented a comparative analysis between Taguig, dominated by the Cayetanos, and Valenzuela, under the Gatchalians.

- Atty. Josephus B. Jimenez

But we’re comparing the legitimacy of the Senate presidency of Alan Peter Cayetano and Senate pro tempore and acting Senate President Sherwin Gatchalian.

We're talking here of two political dynasties. The lawyers of Taguig and the businessmen of Valenzuela. The Cayetanos are now allied with the Dutertes, the Gatchalians with the Marcoses. One of them is a Cabinet member controlling DSWD. The election of Gatchalian as Senate president pro tempore is a strategic victory for the Gatchalians. The Cayetanos, even if there are two siblings in the Senate, are now on the defensive, with 12 senators supporting Win, while only 10 with Alan.

The Cayetanos are the royalty of Taguig. No other politicians could win against any of them or any of their anointed candidates. Last election, Alan and Pia, together with Lani, supported Ricardo Cruz, a non-Cayetano against their own younger brother Lino as Taguig 1st District representative. The House of Cayetano is a divided one, unlike the solid Gatchalian clan.

The Cayetanos started with the iconic, late Atty. Renato Compañero Cayetano, an underling of Juan Ponce Enrile. He was co-founder of the Ponce Enrile, Cayetano, Bautista, and Reyes (PECABAR) Law Firm. Rene married Sandra Schramm, the daughter of his landlady in Ann Arbor, Michigan, when he was taking his master’s degree in the University of Michigan. He became famous as a prosecutor in the Vizconde massacre.