The momentary breakdown of Senator Alan Peter Cayetano over the urgency of passing Senate Concurrent Resolution 23 may have blown the lid off a plot to game the ballot system.

The supposed aim of the resolution passed jointly by the House of Representatives and the Senate was to prevent the disenfranchisement of the voters in the 10 Enlisted Men’s Barrio (EMBO) barangays that are now part of the City of Taguig but which used to be under Makati City.

In 2023, the Supreme Court ruled with finality that Taguig had jurisdiction over Fort Bonifacio and the Embo barangays, which have 336,873 residents, many of whom are of voting age.

Several political pundits suspected that Cayetano’s short fuse over the need to pass the joint Congress resolution was connected to the filing of candidacies for next year’s polls that starts on 1 October.

The Commission on Elections has declared that the residents of the Embos can vote for national and local positions such as mayor, vice mayor and members of the city council “but not for a congressional representative in the 2025 midterm elections in the absence of a congressional act designating to which congressional districts the Embo barangays belong.”

The joint resolution would be the legislative act to comply with the Comelec requirement.

In the art of political manipulation, gerrymandering is high on the list of those who want to maintain a grip on their turf.

One of the gerrymandering strategies is called cracking which is the practice of delineating electoral districts to divide the population of a community or constituency.

Through this, the influence of a community or constituency may be reduced, preventing the group from forming a voting bloc sufficient to elect the group’s preferred candidates.

The Cayetanos fear the Embo residents, who remain loyal to Makati City, are a major force that poses a threat during elections.

Embedded in the resolution is what the senator referred to as a “possible solution” to prevent the disenfranchisement of the Embo voters, which is Taguig City Ordinance 144. The congressional action included support for the local government edict.

Under the ordinance, the 10 Embo barangays will be distributed to two legislative districts while the number of councilors per district will be increased from eight to 12.

Under the resolution, the first district will encompass Comembo, Pembo and Rizal, while the second district will include Cembo, South Cembo, East Rembo, West Rembo, Pitogo, Post Proper Northside and Post Proper Southside.

Thus, the Embo voters, if the Taguig City resolution is carried, will be diluted in the two districts not only for the national but also the local votes.

The desperation of Senator Alan Peter harked to the result of the barangay elections last October which was a debacle for the Cayetanos in the Embos.

All the candidates of the feudal family, including the nemesis of Makati City’s Binay political clan, former Makati vice mayor Ernesto Mercado, were soundly beaten.

Mercado is well remembered for his role in the year-long inquisition of former Vice President Jojo Binay courtesy of the troika of Senators Cayetano, Koko Pimentel and Antonio Trillanes IV.

Mercado, who ran in Barangay Pembo, ate dust and so did all the Cayetano bets in the polls, which was seen as a referendum on the preference of the Embos.

The poll disaster, thus, made it incumbent upon the Cayetanos to break up the votes in the thickly populated district.

While gerrymandering, or the division of jurisdictions, in the region requires congressional action, recognition of the poll body suffices for the local districts, a loophole that was conveniently exploited.

No wonder the Cayetano clan, including Alan Peter, were all agitated prior to the Senate floor clash, as admitted by the senator, over the resolution since 1 October is just around the corner.

It’s not about the loss of the right to vote for the Embo residents but more of the Cayetanos’ political survival at stake to have the controversial resolution passed.