Friday, June 01, 2007 Holding fort By Edwin G. Espejo
(Conclusion) ELECTION results in the other provinces and cities in the Soccskargen area yielded the same results as incumbents either were voted back into office or elected into new positions.
Sweep
In South Cotabato, Governor Daisy Avance-Fuentes continued her firm grip in the province leading the Nationalist People's Coalition (NPC) to a sweep in all but one of the 26 top elective posts that were up for grabs on May 14.
Although the NPC is allied with the Arroyo administration, Fuentes was a long-standing member of the opposition when she was still a member of the House of Representative. She continues to be one and is closely allied with the Antoninos of the first district.
Fuentes is now in her third and last term. She ran against two unknown opponents and won handily by a margin of over 80,000 votes. His running mate Vice Governor Eliordo Ogena also won in similar fashion.
Incumbent Rep. Arthur Pingoy, a party mate of Fuentes, also easily prevailed over former governor Hilario de Pedro in a contest that never materialized into a close race as many predicted.
Only Lakas member and re-electionist Fernando Miguel survived the NPC onslaught by winning over former vice mayor Jose Ledda Jr. in the mayoralty race for the province's capital town of Koronadal.
In Sultan Kudarat, early election returns suggested outgoing Gov. Pakung 'Pax' Mangudadatu and son incumbent Suharto, outgoing member of the House of Representative, that they were on their way out.
But results in their traditional bailiwicks in the province buried the leads of their rivals, headed by NPC member former congressman Roncal Montilla.
The Mangudadatus are closely identified with Malacañang and have delivered votes for Arroyo during the 2004 elections. The late Fernando Poe Jr. even got zero votes in some towns in the province where the Mangudadatus hold the reins.
The father and son tandem have switched places and are now poised to take over their position having already been proclaimed.
In the Cotabato Province , the Piñols are headed towards a likely political dynasty of their own.
Incumbent Gov. Manny Piñol, a former newsman, slid as a vice governor after having served three terms as top honcho in the province. His erstwhile vice governor, Jesus Sacdalan was voted as new governor in the landlocked province.
Pinol's brother, Bernardino, former provincial administrator, is headed for a victory in the second district congressional race trouncing his rivals that included lawyer Evaresto Gana, former Rep. Gregorio Andolana and North Cotabato provincial social welfare and development officer, Zaida Jubilan-Rensulat.
His two other brothers, Efren and Joselito, were officially proclaimed by the Commission on Elections (Comelec) as duly elected mayors of the towns of Magpet and Mlang North Cotabato, respectively.
Winners and losers
With most of the winners in the Soccsksargen area already proclaimed, a status quo has generally prevailed over the reins of the local governments.
The elections also showed many of local political figures probably writing finis to their political careers.
Among the biggest losers was former General Santos City mayor Rosalita Nuñez who lost for the fourth time to regain her former position.
Nuñez has already lost twice to Mayor Pedro Acharon Jr., once in 2001 and again this year. She also lost to Adelbert Antonino in 1998 and in 1992. She did not run in 2004 but her husband lost terribly to Darlene in the congressional race during that elections.
Another sorry loser was outgoing Sarangani vice governor Bridget Chiongbian-Huang who was buried by her cousin Steve Solon. Huang could have been on her way to political success but along the way, her ambitions got the better of her.
Bridget attempted to run against Sarangani governor Miguel Rene Dominguez which led to her estrangement to the political party that her father, Rep. Erwin Chiongbian, and late grandfather James help built in 2004. By defying demands of party mates that she withdraw from the race and going against the wishes of her parents, she also placed a dent on her father's image as head of the Chiongbian political clan in the province.
Rep. Erwin Chiongbian, although he won over former prot‚g‚ and former governor Miguel Escobar, was undoubtedly badly hurt by her daughter's defiance.
Now on his last term as member of the House of Representative, Chiongbian may have lost the political leverage he has over Dominguez who will most likely emerged more powerful than before in his young political career.
Many have already written about Manny Pacquiao's disastrous foray into politics. His loss to Rep. Darlene Antonino-Custodio undoubtedly hurt his budding political career and his pockets, too.
But the bigger loser in the Pacquiao fiasco may have been lawyer Franklin Gacal Jr., who is unfairly being blamed for Manny's loss.
In fairness, Gacal only did what he was supposed to do, help his client and close friend Pacquiao in the latter's attempt to unseat the Antoninos.
Gacal, a sure winner had he ran for a seat in the city council, admitted he was put in a bind by Manny's decision to run. It was Gacal who tried to enlist Shirlyn Bañas to be Nuñez' running mate against the Acharon-Congson tandem.
Unable to do so, his brother, lawyer Francisco Gacal, became a reluctant candidate. In the process, the political career of his younger brother was also injured by the debacle.
In South Cotabato, voters may have seen the last of former governor and former member of the House of Representative Hilario de Pedro. Like Nuñez of General Santos, de Pedro lost thrice in a row. In politics, you are doomed if you lose three successive elections.
The biggest loser in the recently concluded local elections in the Soccsksargen area, however, is the Arroyo administration.
It was widely believed that Malacañang engineered Pacquiao's gallant but losing stand.
Her Team Unity ticket lost badly and followed the national trend. President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo has never recovered from the sound beating she got in the region in 2004, except for Sultan Kudarat where voting then was widely believed to have been heavily rigged in her favor.
And who emerged the big winners?
All who successfully retained or moved to new elective positions were, of course, winners in their own right.
But the drama behind their victories separated the victors from the big winners.
Among those who gained windfall bonanza in their victories was the Sarangani tandem of re-elected governor Miguel Dominguez and vice governor-elect Steve Solon.
Dominguez survived what many believed were initial crises to his budding political career.
The aborted attempt of Huang to contest his post tested the political resolve and influence of Dominguez over the political horizon in the province. By carrying his running mate to victory, Dominguez proved his popularity can be carried over to a relatively unknown upstart in the person of Solon. The victory of Maitum mayoralty candidate Elsie Perrett, whom he campaigned for vigorously, against outgoing mayor Felix Reganit has shattered the myth that Ilocanos will only vote for fellow Ilocanos.
Steve Solon's surprising landslide victory over his incumbent cousin is widely seen as the passing of the torch and the dawning of a new era in the Chiongbian political clan. In his victory, Steve also won redemption of sort for the failure of his mother's 1998 attempt to become a member of the House of Representative.
Solon is a member of the Chiongbian family, his mother being Lucile Chiongbian-Solon.
Another big winner in the May 14 elections is Darlene Antonino who survived one of the toughest challenges to her family's stranglehold in local politics of South Cotabato and General Santos. By conducting a level-headed campaign against an immensely popular Pacquiao, Darlene came out more "stateswomanly" than many candidates facing serious competition.
Daisy Fuentes is also well on her way to becoming one of the powerful opposition figures in the Soccsksargen area and could be a sure winner if she runs again for Congress when her third and last term as governor of the province ends in 2010.
