Joe III’s ‘ill-fated’ congressional bid

By Alex P. Vidal

“Particularly with the blues, it’s not just about bad times. It’s about the healing spirit.”—Taj Mahal

ATTY. Jose “Joe III” Espinosa is a good man.

He could have been Iloilo City’s congressman six years ago.

At that time, the former city mayor’s relationship with his brother-in-law, incumbent city mayor Geronimo “Jerry” Trenas, wasn’t yet stormy.

In fact, the duo could’ve formed a formidable team, one of the strongest-ever in the history of Iloilo City.

But fate had a different version.

At the time when both Espinosa and Trenas needed to join forces, they allowed pride, ambition, ego and lust for more power to obliterate their dream political union.

We’re not saying that only one is guilty.

Both have blood in their hands.

They both refused to pave the way; they were too big for their britches.

Former congressman Trenas, angling to regain city hall, wanted then incumbent city mayor Espinosa to run for congress, perhaps, to preserve their team unity and affinity.

No “outsider” would have erected a tent within the parameters of the rock-solid Trenas-Espinosa bandwagon if pride, ambition, ego, lust for more power didn’t mushroom in their ecological system.

Anyone running for vice mayor in the dream Espinosa (congressman)-Treñas (city mayor) team six years ago would be the sure winner as part of the “package deal” (with due respect to incumbent Vice Mayor Jeffrey Ganzon, who is very much qualified and competent).

 

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When Trenas and Espinosa couldn’t hack it, they both ended up running in separate ways like they didn’t know the road to San Jose.

The period of suspended animation and tension-filled negotiations mediated by kins and political buddies proved to be forlorn and injurious as they resulted in more enmity and antagonism rather than reunification and handshakes.

They both fundamentally have forgotten the story of Jonathan and David.

When David became a member of Saul’s household and won many victories against the Philistines, he and Jonathan became close friends.

When the two met for the last time in the Wilderness of Ziph, they planned that David would be the next king of Israel and Jonathan his minister (I Sam. 23:16–18).

Jonathan said to David, “Go in peace, for we have sworn friendship with each other in the name of the Lord, saying, `The Lord is witness between you and me, and between your descendants and my descendants forever. ‘”

Then David left, and Jonathan went back to the town.

 

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Thus, the holy comet fell upon Julienne “Jam-Jam” Baronda, who was politically dormant when the Trenas-Espinosa l’affaire dawned and was torn to shreds.

Baronda, who had previously lost to Espinosa in the vice mayoral race, became the apple of the eye of Trenas, then hysterical to put up a decent and attractive slate sellable to the young and old voting population.

After lines have been drawn, the titanic showdown became inevitable

when Trenas and Espinosa clashed in a messy battle for city hall capped by sordid episodes and vitriols that almost permanently wrecked the kinship.

And the rest is history.

Espinosa is back in the hustings. He filed his certificate of candidacy for congressman in the May 9, 2022 local election, pitting him against his former political ally and now nemesis, Rep. Baronda.

We don’t underestimate Espinosa’s strength and charisma, but we find his candidacy to be “ill-fated” if not ill-timed.

If we look back to history, it’s always an uphill climb to dethrone an incumbent elected official with a vast machinery who was never tainted with graft and corruption during the official’s first term of office.

We aren’t saying that Baronda is saint, but she is now probably equipped with a wherewithal double when she first launched her candidacy in 2016 alongside her “Tito Jerry.”

And although blood is thicker than water, as the saying goes, we heard Trenas, who claimed to have been badly besmirched and tormented in the previous election campaign, still hasn’t gotten rid of the cobwebs of emotional and mental anguish and may still root for his protégé, Rep. Baronda.

Again, Atty. Espinosa is a good man. Those who know him will not disagree with us. We hate to see him suffer a back-to-back political setback at the time when the healing process with his brother-in-law is almost showing positive signs, or so it seems.

(The author, who is now based in New York City, used to be the editor of two dailies in Iloilo)