I VISITED the grave of my father at the Carreta Cemetery on Nov. 1 and decided to pass by E-Mall on the way to the Pardo Cemetery to fetch my wife and kids who were visiting the graves of my mother-in-law. The mall was virtually deserted as only the grocery section was open. I chanced there my paisano, Boboy Belarmino.

Boboy grew up in Dike in poblacion Tudela, the hometown of my late Tatay Tiyong. Dike is where some of our relatives on my father’s side, the Wenceslaos and the Orges, live. I spent many summers there and in other places of the town when I was younger. I always identify with Tudela and in Poro, the hometown of my Nanay Juling.

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When I talk with Boboy, the topic eventually drifts either to NGO work or to politics. Boboy is Noynoy-Mar, which is not surprising because he is identified more with the Akbayan group of Rissa Hontiveros-Baraquel, one of the senatorial bets of the Liberal Party. Boboy’s group is one of the many Noynoy-Mar volunteer groups around.

But I was interested more with Tudela where the tug-of-war for the post of mayor between Demetrio Granada and Rogelio Baquerfo is continuing. The Commission on Elections (Comelec) has declared Granada winner after a recount, and an implementation order is being awaited. Baquerfo has vowed to prevent Granada from assuming the post.

With only around six months to go before the next elections, I think Comelec should speed up the resolution of the case.

I`d like Granada, an octogenarian, to be Tudela mayor again probably for the last time. I heard that his children don’t want Noy Demet to run for mayor in May 2010. They probably want him to go easy at his age.

I agree. Noy Demet has already contributed much to Tudela, especially in the struggle in the ‘80s to free the town from the control of the Duranos. The political landscape in Tudela and “Durano Country” has changed since then, however, with younger members of the clan at the helm. Noy Demet is even now already a Durano ally.

Perhaps it is time for the younger leaders of Tudela to take over the town’s politics. I understand new faces are surfacing.

But Noy Demet should still play a role as an elder, especially in the 2010 elections which is very crucial. Who he will support for mayor will matter a lot. Boboy is with Granada and is running for a government post.

That is a good development. He is, after all, son of former Tudela mayor Metudio Belarmino Sr. (Boboy’s the “junior”). His organizational skills and progressive thinking will help a lot not only in a political campaign but also in governance. The town needs its best minds if it wants to benefit from the growth of the tourism industry in Camotes.

To run or not to run in 2010 will not be the only decision Granada will make in the next few weeks. As an ally of the Duranos, he may have to support the presidential candidate they will be favoring. Noy Demet led the Cory partisans in Tudela in the 1986 snap presidential polls. The dictator Ferdinand Marcos lost in the town in that election.

I don’t know what Noy Demet’s views are of the candidacy for president of Cory’s son, Noynoy. He still must have sympathies for the Aquinos like many of the yellow denizens of old who are supporting Noynoy’s presidential bid. But again there’s realpolitik. Noy Demet is a retired military official. He is a good political soldier, too.

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