Quimbo recalls ‘mischievous’ Cua as true friend, firm politician

MANILA, Philippines — Former Quirino Governor Dakila “Dax” Cua never changed despite rising through various elective positions, Marikina Rep. Miro Quimbo said on Monday.

Quimbo said this in his eulogy for Cua during the necrological service at the Batasang Pambansa complex, recalling their first meeting at a housing project in Quirino in 2006, when Quimbo was head of the Pag-IBIG Fund and Cua was the province’s vice governor.

According to Quimbo, Cua dragged him away from the spotlight because he found discussions among the elders—his father, former Gov. Junie Cua, and former Vice President Noli de Castro—boring.

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“As with every visit, much of the attention was always on the ‘older people,’ meaning on Kabayan and the older politicians who would host us — in this case, it was Tito Junie Cua. While much of the attention that day was on Kabayan and Tito Junie, I managed to stay with the younger people in that provincial visit — that’s where I met Dax,” Quimbo said.

“He was barely over 25, I was 31, he told me, ‘do not tag along with the elders, they talk about boring stuff, go with me.’ I said, ‘this is a shameless vice governor, we will get along well,” he added.

Quimbo said the younger Cua gave him a tour of the capital and had an answer for every question he raised, giving him an idea of how dedicated the then-vice governor was to working for the province.

“So while Kabayan and Tito Junie discussed the intricacies of the housing program that Tito Junie wanted to put up for the province, Dax and I went around the capital for the next two hours. Like 99 percent of the population of the Philippines, I did not know a single thing about the province. But for every question I asked, Dax would provide me with a Quirino 101 lecture,” Quimbo said.

“It was clear to me that he was very proud of the province. That visit lasted a little over four hours, but in such a short period of time, it gave me a glimpse of Dax — unassuming, respectful, especially of the older generation of leaders; he was willing to always take a backseat to give his father the opportunity to shine,” he added.

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Quimbo said he and Cua became best buddies, along with other neophyte lawmakers, during the 15th Congress, as they eventually teamed up to take on different issues.

Mischievous

Quimbo chaired the House of Representatives’ committee on ways and means during the 16th Congress, and when the administration changed in 2016, Cua assumed the chairmanship.

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Eventually, Quimbo said Cua asked for his help on a matter, as some House members supposedly wanted a bill passed as soon as possible.

When he asked who would be his opponent in the debates, Quimbo said Cua told him it was someone he could handle.

However, Quimbo said he had to kick Cua under the table when he learned that his opponent would be former president and Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, one of the country’s experts in economics and public policy.

“I asked him, like with anything, ‘who are we going against here?’ Who is the congressman on the opposing side, so to speak? He said there is one, but it’s nothing you cannot handle. So I woke up early in the morning, I went to his committee hearing, and I realized when I got there that there were only two other people aside from Dax,” the lawmaker said.

“It was Dax, me, and the person on the other side was apparently former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. I looked at him; I kicked him on his shin under the table; I kicked him really; I told him he’s really shameless. Who on earth debates with the smartest former president? He said, it’s you,” he added.

Quimbo said it was probably one of Cua’s gifts because he knew how to make things lighter.

“After the meeting, I was absolutely furious. I approached him and told him what I had to say, but all he could do was keep laughing. I don’t know why, but Dax had that ability to turn your anger into laughter. Even I ended up laughing,” he added.

Opponents

Cua’s gift of persuasion was also apparent, Quimbo said, when they became adversaries during the deliberation on the Reproductive Health (RH) bill, an advocacy of the Aquino administration.

Quimbo was pushing for the RH Bill, while Cua opposed it, which confused Quimbo because he considered the Quirino lawmaker a progressive thinker, having studied at the University of the Philippines Diliman.

“But while Dax knew how to have fun, he was also deadly serious with work […] something I deeply respected about Dax was his penchant for sticking to his own beliefs. If he believes in something, he will fight for it. And this led to many debates between us,” he said.

“When Congress belabored over the RH Bill sometime in 2011, Dax stood as one of the main vanguards opposing RH. For the first time, we were on opposite sides of the aisle; I could not for the life of me accept that someone so progressive, a fellow UP Diliman graduate, was deeply against RH,” he added.

Quimbo said he was so confused that he discussed the matter with Cua over a bottle of whisky. However, the Marikina solon admitted he eventually had to stop the discussion because he was already being persuaded.

“I could not let it pass, so I asked him if we could discuss the same over shots of whiskey. Those shots eventually became bottles, and I came nowhere closer to convincing him of the merits of my position,” he said.

“In fact, I decided to end that drinking session because apparently, he was convincing me toward his position. But that was Dax, he was lighthearted most of the time, but deeply serious when it came to his core beliefs. It was then that he earned my unquestionable respect,” he added.

During the necrological service, several members of the House — including Arroyo, House Speaker Faustino “Bojie” Dy III, former Speakers Feliciano Belmonte and Pantaleon Alvarez — remembered Cua as a dedicated public official who prioritized the fate of his province.

Dy said that he always considered the former lawmaker a friend and younger brother, who always called him “Manong Bojie,” as they both come from the same province, Cagayan Valley.

READ: Dy remembers Cua as public servant who always put Quirino province first

According to Dy, one of the things Cua asked for help with was a sports facility in Quirino, which may seem like a simple matter to many. He also said Cua saw the significance of the project because it could help athletes from his province.

READ: Quirino governor dies at 48; remembered for 25-year public service

Last Tuesday, Cua’s family announced that the former lawmaker had passed away at the age of 48. Cua was governor of Quirino at the time of his death.

Cua’s death was announced by his father, former governor Junie Cua. The older Cua appealed in a Facebook Live broadcast on Wednesday for prayers and support as they mourned his death.

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Former governor Cua did not disclose the cause of his son’s death, but there were reports that he had been suffering from an undisclosed illness. /mcm