Friday, May 09, 2008 Mary Ann to face Cutie del Mar in 2010 race?
THE local opposition is considering fielding Lahug Barangay Captain Mary Ann de los Santos for the Cebu City north district House seat that will be vacated by Rep. Raul del Mar in 2010.
If plans push through, de los Santos may face del Mar’s daughter Rachel, more popularly known as Cutie, who is reportedly being eyed to replace her father.
With the recent announcement by Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña on the candidates the Bando Osmeña Pundok Kauswagan (BOPK) will be fielding in the 2010 elections, the local opposition group is also starting to consider whom to field for the different posts.
Defeated vice mayoral candidate Raymond Garcia said the opposition now has an advantage with the disqualification of several BOPK incumbent officials because of term limits.
“The opposition now has a deep bench compared to Bando Osmeña Pundok Kauswagan (BO-PK), which only has (currently) Vice Mayor Michael Rama, period. Wala na silang Reps. Antonio Cuenco (Cebu City south) and Raul del Mar (Cebu City north), and Mayor Tomas Osmeña (by 2010). But we still have Mary Ann de los Santos with her 120,000 votes,” Raymond said.
Raymond said he is interested in running for a City Council seat. He said the local opposition is considering fielding de los Santos for the north district congressional seat.
Raymond said that among the political combinations they are considering is fielding former Cebu City mayor Alvin Garcia for mayor with de los Santos as vice mayor while he runs for the north district seat with sports patron Jona-than Guardo running for the south district.
Raymond said that another possible combination is Guardo running for mayor with him as vice mayor.
“But, of course, the election is still two years away. There will still be many changes. What we have is initial discussion. But definitely, the opposition will field only one candidate for each position,” he said.
He said he has stayed away from the limelight since the 2007 election because he believes “the people have spoken” and he wanted “to give the current administration the chance to prove themselves.”
Ready
De los Santos, meanwhile, said she is “ready for any position” although she said it may not necessarily be with the Genuine Opposition (GO).
She said she considers herself as an independent even if she ran under GO against Osmeña in the last elections.
“The opposition members are talking among themselves. We are contemplating who would be best suited for political positions and reassessing things in order to come up with a credible and formidable party. What is significant is that the playing field will be on level because most officials are last-termers. In a way, this is an advantage for us,” she said in a phone interview.
She also said she hoped that traditional politicians will no longer dominate politics in 2010.
Raymond said there is a “big possibility” that the opposition will still be united and will rally behind their chosen standard bearer.
He said they now have enough time to prepare for the elections. He said a long preparation will increase his chances of winning, compared in 2007 when he only had 30 days to prepare.
De los Santos said she considered the 120,000 votes she got in the last election as her “benchmark” for 2010 because “it shows that there are already plenty of voters who are ready for change.”
Change
“We still have two years to prepare to let the people know who we are and what our qualifications are. I am hopeful that the Cebuanos will see that I am qualified to be a legislator and councilor of the city of Cebu,” Garcia said.
Raymond said he believes Osmeña when he denied that his wife Margot will run for mayor in 2010 to prepare for his son Miguel’s foray into politics by 2013.
“He will stick to his word as of now. But we don’t know. There is a big possibility there will be changes because a lot of barangay leaders and even some city councilors who are not happy with Rama as their mayor and they are pushing for the candidacy of Margot Osmeña,” he said.
“Mayor Osmeña wants a candidate nga iyang madisilya og demano, nga iyang masugo-sugo (he can control). And Rama has proven to be that kind of person. He and (Joy Young) just follow whatever Tom Osmeña says. That is the type of candidate Osmeña wants so that, in effect, if Rama sits as mayor, it is not him who is the mayor but Tom Osmeña who will still be calling the shots and be the invisible hand behind Rama,” Raymond said. (NRC)
