IN the life of a politician, there is one common expression that is widely accepted but hardly mentioned at all.
And this is – kauban ta pero kontra pod.
A dyed-in-the-wool politician knows this, even accepts this as part and parcel of the local political dynamics.
This expression applies only to candidates for board members and members of the sangguniang bayan, including sanggunian sa barangay.
How so?
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Well, this is best illustrated when we see those candidates mentioned above with their raised hands holding together during conventions, rallies and campaign sorties, wearing similar shirts and colors and singing the same political tune every time they hold the microphone on stage.
They usually go together during campaigns, and always, like it’s an unwritten rule, make campaign pitches for their “kauban” after advancing their political merits to the audience.
Unahon niya og kampanya ang kaugalingon dayon lakbitan pod og kampanya ang iyang mga kauban.
Kay kauban god.
Even in their tarpaulin and posters, apil gihapon ang ilang kauban sa kampanya.
Kay kauban god.
* * *
But they know, especially those who are already neck-deep or veterans in the political game, that while they are kauban, they are in fact kontra because they are fighting for the same seat, most especially those aspiring to clinch the number 1 seat.
Silently, they are competing with each other for the same seat, either as number 1, or number 2, 3 or the 4th seat for board members.
This applies too even when they run unopposed (so sure winners na sila daan) because they are all competing for the number 1 seat.
This is the very reason that during their special ops, about a week before election time, they will start the “birok” game, where they tell their leaders and supporters to vote only for himself, and pakapinan po og “ayaw na iapil ang uban.”
Kadtong dili kaayo “laog” will do it moderately like – i-seguro lang ko sa number 1 sa balota unya kamo nay bahala sa uban nakong mga kauban, basta maseguro lang ko.
Because this is already “routinary” and already part and parcel of the political dynamics, nobody complains when everybody in the group will campaign solo during their special ops, when everything becomes fair game, basta modaog lang, bahala na ang ubang kauban sa grupo.
So that is politics Philippines style – kauban pero kontra.
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But there are variations to that.
One is when wannabes are at odds with each other long before the filing of the COCs, they are even treating each other with “cold shoulder” when they occasionally meet but become kauban because of political accommodations as when they are aspiring for board members or members of the sangguniang bayan on the same political grouping or political coalition.
Like this wannabe that I know who is silently “nagdumot” sa iyang kauban sa grupo kay gilibak ug gipakaulawan og taman-taman sa iyang kauban sa wala mo mosulod sa politika.
I said silently because she preferred to take the pakaulaw in silence‘
