MANY of the results of the recently concluded midterm elections last Monday, May 13, did not come as a surprise.
There was never any doubt presumptive governor Gwen Garcia would beat her opponent, Vice Gov. Agnes Magpale. Never. Her insurmountable lead of 245,000 was proof of that.
Garcia, though, refused to be proclaimed winner last Tuesday, May 14, because there were still 132,000 votes that needed to be counted.
According to her, she did not want to “shut out” these votes.
Her brother Pablo John’s return to the third district as representative was also inevitable.
First and foremost, he never lost there. He only relinquished the post after his second term so he could run for governor against Hilario Davide III when his sister’s three terms as governor were up in 2013.
Still, people had expected a close fight between Pablo John and octogenarian Toledo City Mayor Sonny Osmeña, not a whopping thrashing,
Former Cebu City mayor Michael Rama’s victory against outgoing City Councilor Mary Ann de los Santos, too, did not raise any eyebrows. Quite the contrary. After all, Rama has the south district as a bailiwick, while de los Santos has Barangay Lahug.
In hindsight, it was an uneven contest from the beginning even though the stigma of being on the presidential narcolist continued to dog Rama. Duterte might have raised his hand during a PDP-Laban rally last February, but the former never cleared him. Nor did the President officially endorse him. But Cebu City knew better, which might explain why they chose him over de los Santos.
Then again, who would want to vote for a shameless political butterfly?
Did I just judge? I shouldn’t have, shouldn’t I?
Anyway, these were the results Cebu voters had taken for granted. Expected, even.
But what say you about Cebu City Vice Mayor Edgardo Labella beating the Tomas Osmeña for the city’s top position?
I know. I feel guilty doubting Labella even had an iota of a chance of winning. But I’m pretty sure I was not the only one.
Heck, I felt like pinching myself when I checked the hourly updates of the count last Monday night. In fact, his victory didn’t sink in until around 11 p.m. after Osmeña basically acknowledged his loss on Facebook.
I had written that in an ideal world, Labella would win. Hands down. Now, I’m at a loss for words. The world we live in is far from ideal. And yet.
And what about Cebu Port Authority commissioner and former Liloan Mayor Duke Frasco?
“Historic” was how one friend described his victory over Red Durano to wrest control of the fifth district from the clan that had lorded over that part of Cebu for seven decades.
Short of a miracle, really.