Nava brothers of Guimaras end political feud

By Francis Allan L. Angelo

Brothers JC Rahman Nava (left) and Felipe Hilan Nava ended their more than a decade of political feud in Guimaras. They both attended a mass before filing their candidacies on October 6.

Rahman will run for governor while Felipe is seeking a seat in the Provincial Board representing the second district.

The feud between the brothers came to a head in 2013 when Rahman supported incumbent Gov. Samuel Gumarin who defeated Felipe in the gubernatorial race.

Felipe again vied for the top Capitol post in 2016 but lost to Gumarin once more. He also ran for mayor of Jordan town in 2019 but lost to incumbent Ruben Corpuz.

When asked what led to their reconciliation, Felipe said “family comes first.” Their icy relationship thawed when Felipe was stricken with COVID-19 sometime in July, prompting Rahman to reach out and help his younger brother.

Their mother, who is now 90 years old, and their sister also patched them up not necessarily for political reasons but for the sake of their family.

Before filing their candidacies yesterday, photos of the two brother embracing each other and sporting warm smiles made rounds on social media with the caption “Together again.”

Rahman’s running mate in 2022 is reelectionist Vice Gov. John Edward Gando. His wife, incumbent lone district Rep. Lucille Nava, will also seek reelection.

Meanwhile, Gumarin will seek to regain his old seat as mayor of Buenavista town which is currently occupied by Mayor Eugene Reyes.

While he is not retiring from politics, Reyes told Aksyo Radyo-Iloilo that he will not seek reelection in 2022. Instead, they will put up another group so that voters in Buenavista can have alternative candidates in next year’s polls.