Labella’s early test

There was nothing unusual in Cebu City Councilor Erik Espina’s decision to resign from his position. It was the most logical thing to happen under the circumstances regardless of whether or not he and James Cuenco had a gentleman’s agreement.

Espina was appointed to replace Cuenco, whose seat became vacant after he was dismissed by the Ombudsman. The dismissal order was, however, reversed by the Court of Appeals (CA), which also ordered that Cuenco be reinstated. In other words, there was no more vacancy for Espina to fill. In fact, Cuenco’s reinstatement ought to have been automatic by operation of law except that the CA directed the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) to implement its order.

Espina chose not to wait for the DILG to move and instead vacated his post voluntarily. It was a gentlemanly gesture and it would have attracted not much interest had he not at the same time announced that he was also quitting his bid for a regular council seat because he had no more moral obligation to run as a candidate of Barug PDP-Laban.

It is definitely more advantageous to run in an election as an incumbent than as an outsider but Espina said he was faring well in the surveys so he didn’t need the edge of being an insider to boost his chances. So if the chance of winning did not influence his decision, what did?

The tragedy here is that Espina was one of the worthiest candidates for councilor. He would have been an asset to the city legislature. I would have voted for him if he ran in the north district. Now, even the south district voters have been denied the privilege of choosing him.

If there’s any consolation at all from these unwanted developments, it is that they have been flushed out early in the election season

There is more to his decision than meets the eye but he’s not talking. Did intrigue push him out of Barug so much so that not even Vice Mayor Edgar Labella could persuade him to stay?

By the way, how true is it that another Barug candidate for councilor also wanted to withdraw weeks before Espina did? Rumor has it that Vice Mayor Edgar Labella was in the United States when the candidate called to inform him of the withdrawal because of political intrigue. The candidate is acknowledged to be a sure winner even by the opposing camp, a point that was not lost on Labella, who knows only too well the difficulty that a mayor faces in pursuing his programs with a hostile council.

Because of the time difference, Labella hardly had a wink that night when the candidate called, trying to convince his caller to reconsider, according to my source. The sacrifice was rewarded in the end as the candidate reversed course, avoiding the predicament of Barug fielding only seven candidates in the north district as the period for substituting candidates had by then already expired.

It is a predicament that they now must bear in the south district unless Espina changes his mind. If he does not, which is most likely, Barug’s remaining option is to adopt one of the front running independent candidates for councilor. It’s not a perfect arrangement but it is better than nothing at all.

If there’s any consolation at all from these unwanted developments, it is that they have been flushed out early in the election season, allowing for adjustments to be made. This is also an early test of Labella’s leadership. He cannot be fighting brush fires forever. He should leave no doubt as to who is boss and whose voice counts in his camp at the end of the day.

I have realized that I haven’t celebrated Christmas and New Year with them since I was born. DAANBANTAYAN MAYOR VICENTE LOOT, ON HIS DECISION TO REMAIN IN THE US DURING CHRISTMAS AND NEW YEAR