IN OUR last week's discussion, we postulated on how the local political opposition continually exploits the rumored political split between Atty. Tonton Acharon and his brother, incumbent City Mayor Jun Acharon.

At this juncture, we wish to clarify that there is no quarrel obtaining among Mayor Jun Acharon and his siblings. It is unlikely to happen to a close-knit family like theirs, and to people, like them, who were raised by their parents under the atmosphere of peace, harmony and respect.

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The analysis that we made in our previous column is purely premised on a hypothesis; that is, in case the "consistent rumor" that Tonton Acharon would be running against Congresswoman Darlene Antonino-Custodio to whom his brother, Mayor Jun Acharon, has an unbreakable political alliance, is true. This means that such proposition is not conclusive.

Though hypothetical, it is given weight in our analysis because the political opposition is using such "rumor" to advance its electoral strategy for the 2010 elections.

Let us continue. Today, the city waits for the final decision of Vice Mayor Florentina L. Congson after she publicly floated the possibility of her severance from her party, the Achievement with Integrity Movement or AIM, if such is necessary to pave the way for her direct participation in the mayoralty contest.

She also announced that she will make known her final decision after her party would have finally decided not to draft her as its standard bearer.

Whether or not such political posturing is a healthy party attitude is a matter that we will leave entirely to Vice Mayor Congson’s own mental processes. Such posturing, however, is now made as an object of cynicism in many quarters. They consider it as one bordering on “blackmail,” and intended to warp the party’s free and meaningful exercise of its internal democracy.

On our part, we find it not yet proper to make such poignant conclusions. Until today, Vice Mayor Congson is still being looked up as one who is too good a woman to ever entertain such thoughts.

Unfortunately, the public posturing of Vice Mayor Congson makes her a convenient venue for an "evil workshop," so to speak.

City Councilor Domdom Lagare had lately offered her the mayorship in one of his TV interviews, without actually engaging with her in a formal tˆte-…-tˆte. Fortunately for Councilor Lagare, Vice Mayor Congson did not consider such media offer as a demeaning insult, considering her overarching political stature, and, instead, she welcomed it with apparent delight.

Vice Mayor Congson has a problem. With her failure to transcend beyond the myopic, she has made herself a thoughtless pawn in the dangerous Games of the General. It is very clear in the opposition's strategy that its purpose in playing footsie with her is only to further widen the gap between her and the AIM leadership, and, eventually, to make it ripen into a final, irreversible split.

The motive force behind the opposition's strategy in duping Vice Mayor Congson into the ranks of the local opposition is not to make her its candidate for city mayor. It is not the main import of the opposition's 2010 electoral strategy.

The only purpose for such scheme is to create a condition for a three-cornered fight. This is premised on a belief that such political arrangement could put the opposition, whoever its candidate for mayor would be, on the position of strength.

With such formation, opposition leaders hope for the repeat of the 1988 election scenario where they were able to emerge victorious, after both the Antoninos and the Congsons decided to grapple with them for control of local political power.

If we may recall, the contest for the mayorship at that time was between and among OIC City Mayor Lita Nu¤ez, Lu Recasa Antonino, who later on became congresswoman, and Doming Congson, husband of Vice Mayor Congson. The victory of Lita Nu¤ez in that election was attributed to the fact that the electorate comprising the upper and middle classes were heavily divided between Lu Antonino and Doming Congson.

Whether or not the results of a possible three-cornered fight in the 2010 elections would be a repeat of the outcome of the 1988 elections is the thesis that we will pursue next week as we subject to deeper scrutiny the "developments" involving Tonton Acharon and Vice Mayor Flor Congson.