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Friday, April 30, 2004
Roperos: John-john’s edge
By Godofredo M. Roperos
Politics also
What initially occurred to me as a campaign that would go the course of all normal political exercises has suddenly turned into a murky three-way contest as the campaign enters the homestretch.
Earlier, it looked as if the only candidate for governor left unscathed with issues involving misbehavior in their performance as public officials would be former agriculture undersecretary Celestino “Junie” Martinez, Jr.
But his wife, 4th district Rep. Clavel Asas, got entangled in the issue about her discretionary fund.
It is an issue Junie could have done quite joyously without. But since it has broken out to public notice, he is helpless to do anything about it.
It is an issue that has derailed her husband’s campaign momentum regardless of whether Clavel is able to explain the transfer of the fund to her private account satisfactorily or not.
The point is that she has undertaken a suspicious process in handling public fund appropriated for development, whether it has become discretionary on her part on how to dispose of it.
Ms. Martinez’s act may have caused the loss of the small advantage her husband held last week in the three-way gubernatorial race.
It meant that the advantage has now eased back to the camp of Vice Gov. John-john Osmena, and I doubt whether Junie or Gwen can wrest it back just 10 days from voting day.
At this point, political scientist-friends from the academe told me they see Gwen and Junie about even in political strength.
They feel that Gwen does not really have a political turf she can truly claim as her own.
What she has are scattered alliances throughout the province based on the goodwill her governor father has generated during his long years of incumbency.
Which is the reason why she can claim to have the support of many municipal mayors, but not consider a single congressional district as truly supportive of her cause.
On the other hand, Martinez, having the fourth district dominated by wife Clavel, would appear in decidedly much better position than Gwen.
But on closer look, the fourth district has somewhat lost its full political glitter for the Martinezes with the “departure” from their fold of Daanbantayan, one of the area’s bigger municipalities.
I learned that the political guru of the town, the Loots, has decided to chart their own course outside the Martinezes’ umbrella.
But it is not just in Daanbantayan that the Martinezes are having political dissension. The opposition is also effectively challenging their political hold of the town of Bantayan.
In fact, last week, John-john and his runningmate, Addy Sitoy, who has reportedly taken direct charge of their campaign, descended on the town to give a moral boost to the opposition’s campaign against the reelectionist pro-Martinez lady mayor.
This further indicates a crack in Junie’s political fortress.
One of our academe political observers said she cannot see any real possibility Martinez could have more municipal mayors on his side than Gwen.
She said that placing aside considerations of their performance in their respective offices (meaning the issues tying them up with misbehavior in office), they have about evened up their respective scores.
Under such situation, political analysts can only come down to the perceptible basics in assessing their respective current standing.
And so, considering that John-john has the support of four congressional districts—the first, second, third and fifth, with the great possibility that he may even win also in the sixth with the support of the Ouanos, he definitely should be considered as enjoying the winning edge.
Barring, of course, any last minute changes in political alignments.
(April 30, 2004 issue)
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