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Thursday, January 01, 2004
Mongaya: No rest for politicians
By Anol Mongaya
YEAR 2004 promises to be a more political year compared with 2003, what with the May elections. My only hope: that the election results would be convincing for the winners so we will have a well-needed respite from politicking the rest of the year. For now, just allow me to greet everybody a Happy New Year!
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With the Jan. 5, 2004 deadline for the filing of certificates of candidacy just around the bend, politicians aren’t resting for the holidays. This noon, Rep. Nerry Soon-Ruiz will meet her leaders in the sixth district. She is reportedly bolting the Nationalist People’s Coalition (NPC), led in Cebu by Rep. Ace Durano, to form a party that would back Junie Martinez for governor.
Nerry’s camp said that Sen. Sonny Osmeña is sticking with Martinez for now. Sonny will only support his son if he runs against Rep. Eddie Gullas in the first district.
Maybe Nerry is also smarting from her NPC colleagues’ alliance with the Ouanos of Mandaue in the pro-GMA group called K-GOD.
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I thought the Jan. 5 deadline will finally decide the lineup of candidates of the different parties. But political parties still can substitute candidates by Jan. 15. Meaning, lineups can change.
For instance, Lito Osmeña’s Promdi will field unknown Minglanilla leader and perennial election loser Archimedes Reroma for governor with the popular Nanding Celeste as vice governor. But Lito O can still run by replacing Reroma come Jan. 15.
If Lito O runs, will Vice Gov. John-John Osmeña stand in his way? I don’t think so. To appease both his father and his uncle, John-john will replace the Promdi candidate for congressman in the first district.
Will Gwen Garcia pursue her candidacy for governor? Perhaps. But I am sure brother Winston will come up with a win-win arrangement.
If this scenario materializes, we in Cebu province’s first district will finally see a battle royale between Eddiegul and John-john. For now, the other aspirants in the district face an uphill battle against Gullas.
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Several readers in the fifth district refuted an earlier item saying Sogod Mayor Deo Durano has allied himself with brother Don in opposing Rep. Ace Durano, who is supporting John-john’s candidacy. I said Deo is with the Garcia camp.
But texters said Deo can never be with Don. Also, Deo has allied himself with the Martinez camp. I think we will finally know the actual alliances as things unfold in the next few weeks. Reality in politics is often not what it appears to be.
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As I expected, the presidential race is shaping up to be a GMA-Noli battle against FPJ-Loren. Former senator Raul Roco and Sen. Panfilo Lacson, along with evangelist Eddie Villanueva, may get votes but the front-runners will be President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and Fernando Poe. Jr.
Though GMA is not doing well in the surveys, we should not discount the fact that she is the sitting president. And she has shown that she knows how to use power to pursue her ambition. The last time a sitting president ran in 1969, he won. But then, we could not also discount the power of FPJ’s popularity combined with the opposition’s machinery.
While Roco and Villanueva will rob GMA of precious votes, FPJ’s campaign will also be hampered by Lacson’s insistence on running.
In the vice presidential race, Partido ABS-CBN will win hands down because both Sen. Noli de Castro and Loren Legarda are their people.
Though Legarda can boast of more achievements, de Castro, who won in 1998 as an independent, will benefit from the administration party’s machinery.
(e-mail: superbalita@ sunstar. com.ph or anol_cebu@ hotmail. com; text: 0917-9761193)
(January 1, 2004 issue)
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