Thursday, May 17, 2007 Editorial: Not necessarily the better bet
THERE are many ways of analyzing a win, or a loss.
In Cebu City, Mayor Tomas Osmeña, who is already assured of getting reelected to a third term, has used the bragging right he now owns because of his win.
He went issue-based in his assessment, making it appear that Cebuano voters still preferred his leadership style and stance on many issues.
Assessments
That he won in Barangay Luz, the mayor said, only means that the land swap issue used by the opposition against him did not work.
He did not say, of course, that he played Luz residents' "savior" to Capitol's "evil" land owner in the drama involving Province-owned lots in the said barangay.
Losing mayoral candidate Mary Ann de los Santos, for her part, analyzed his loss in the aspect of time, machinery and funding, not on the mishandling of issues.
"Time was not with me. I came very late in the campaign and I did not have the money and organization,” she said.
So is Osmeña's win the result of voters believing in his leadership traits and handling of issues, or is it because de los Santos lacked preparation, money and machinery?
Advantage
The political situation in the city is actually too complicated to analyze.
But some political observers did raise this question when it became evident that de los Santos would run against Osmeña: Will people's disenchantment with the mayor be enough to offset his advantage in money and machinery against de los Santos?
There’s no question that a good number of voters frown on the mayor’s arrogance and vindictiveness and are therefore looking for alternatives.
To say otherwise would be to deceive Osmeña into believing that voters are overwhelmingly endorsing what he has been doing and asking him to continue doing these through his next term.
Playing field The quest for alternatives, however, is stymied by the reality that the Bando Osmeña Pundok Kauswagan’s machinery and funding is formidable.
The idea that de los Santos is David to Osmeña’s Goliath stems from the understanding of this reality, especially on the opposition’s limited resource and lack of preparation and organization.
Considering that the playing field was not even in the first place, it would be presumptuous to claim that Osmeña gained the upper hand in these elections because he was the better leader or candidate.
