ROGELIO Baquerfo, one of two claimants to the post of Tudela mayor, seems to have learned his lesson. Two of his recent moves show that either he has realized the folly of deserting the town or his lawyers stressed that point to him. But the shift in strategy in his war with Demetrio Granada, the other town “mayor,” is a bit delayed.

Had Baquerfo given in to Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia’s recent appeal for him to talk the problem out with Noy Demet, I would have been surprised. This after the previous dialogue with the governor resulted days after with Baquerfo leading his supporters in a failed attempt to retake the Municipal Hall now being occupied by Granada’s forces.

What made Team Baquerfo’s effort laughable is the result. After Granada’s people repulsed the “assault,” they did the next best thing, which was to seize the old municipal hall nearby. Okay, I agree that this taking-over-tactic is symbolic, but why the clumsiness? Now they don’t even know who has the key of the town’s only fire truck.

I say that Granada, at the onset, had the better strategy, or should I say, advisers. (Incidentally, the legal counsels of both camps have at least one former student activist in the mix although I don’t know if they still remember “strategizing.”) Noy Demet taking over the Municipal Hall resulted in him being at the helm as the electoral case dragged.

For months, Baquerfo looked contented staying in Barangay Puertobello when he is not in his other residence in Lapu-Lapu City, shouting in the sidelines that he is still mayor, gloating over the support given to him by the Department of Interior and Local Government, and waiting for legal crumbs as the Commission on Elections dithered.

In the meantime, Granada is running the town while consolidating his support from the Municipal Council, the Association of Barangay Councils and his partisans. He may or may not eventually get a favorable decision in his electoral case, but the events of the past months have dented the political advantage Baquerfo gained from the 2007 polls.

Meaning, it all boils down to an understanding of how our faulty electoral system operates and not on any legal mumbo-jumbo. In a way, Team Granada is happy in the same manner that Augusto “Itok” Corro---who won his electoral protest in court like Noy Demet---is not. Daanbantayan Mayor Sun Shimura refused to do a Baquerfo. He has held on to his post despite Corro’s posturing, and is most probably not regretting it.

(khanwens@yahoo.com/ my blog: cebuano.wordpress.com)