Let us be blessed with our present candidates

We already wrote about the filing of the certificates of candidacies of the opposition, so now we talk about the slate from the Bando Osmeña Pundok Kauswagan (BOPK) whose bets filed their certificates of candidacy the other day and surprisingly without Councilor David Tumulak in the lineup. Many pundits suspect that Tumulak wasn't happy that Mayor Tomas Osmeña chose Councilor Mary Ann delos Santos to be his vice mayoralty candidate. For most of her political career Mary Ann was a bitter enemy of Mayor Osmeña, but today they are friends. But if you looked at all the friends of Tomas, they all end up as bitter enemies of the mayor when they all became vice mayor of Tomas. Talk about Alvin Garcia or Mike Rama. So in the end, Mary Ann is headed that way!

So the political stage has been set, Barug PDP Laban is fielding Vice Mayor Edgardo Labella for mayor and former mayor Michael Rama for vice mayor in the 2019 polls and they will be against BOPK's Osmeña and Delos Santos. As expected, BOPK will field again, Rep. Raul Del Mar for Congress for the North District and Rodrigo Abellanosa for the South District. Running for councilor for the North District are Sisinio Andales, Alvin Arcilla, Jerry Guardo, Joy Augustus Young, Nestor Archival, Alvin Dizon, Lea Japson, and Marlo Maamo. Running for councilor in the South District are Eugenio Gabuya Jr., Roberto Cabarrubias, Rengelle Pelayo, Marie Velle Abella, Michael Gacasan, and Kirk Bryan Repollo and Raul Alcoseba. No doubt they are a strong party except that BOPK is still identified with the discredited Liberal Party (LP).

Mayor Osmeña has identified Barangay Guadalupe as his strongest bailiwick, but I go in that area and no, it is no longer a BOPK bailiwick simply because when you talk to the man on the street, he has too many negative things to say about BOPK. In my book, the biggest negative for Osmeña is the non-construction of the arena similar to MOA's Arena which would have given Cebu a world class convention center and the SMX, which would have been operational today. Anyway elections are coming and by May we will know who will be the winners in this political race.

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Speaking of the Liberal Party, former Liberal Party president and standard-bearer former senator and Interior Secretary Manuel “Mar” Roxas is running for the Senate in a comeback attempt. Roxas withdrew from most public engagements after losing to President Rodrigo Duterte in the 2016 national polls. Well, he wants to get back in power but like what I said, he has to explain to the public why as DILG Secretary he purchase those numerous Mahindra jeeps at a price higher than the Toyota Fortuner? The Fortuner is not only cheaper but much more sturdy and reliable than the Mahindra and the police drivers are already complaining all the way to the COA. So either Roxas gives us a logical explanation or we would have to find another senator to vote in May 2019.

Roxas placed in the 11-17 bracket in the pre-senatorial election survey released by Pulse Asia last month. He served in the Senate from 2004 to 2010. Come to think of it, Roxas is quite at the border of the Senatorial seat so we would know in the next few months if he has a chance to win.

Another fellow whom we thought would run for the Senate is former presidential spokesperson Harry Roque, who on Monday announced that he would run for Congress under the Luntian Pilipinas Party-list. Roque said that his decision not to run for senator came after a conversation with President Rodrigo Duterte. The outgoing Malacañang spokesman will be the first nominee of the environmental party-list while Ciara Sotto, daughter of Senate President Tito Sotto, will be the second nominee.

So we have brought you the famous personalities seeking a Senate seat and a Malacañag spokesman who was to seek a Senate seat but ended up seeking a Party-list position. Then of course we brought you the BOPK list of candidates, so we hope that the best candidates win their electoral bid!

For email responses to this article, write to vsbobita@ gmail.com. His columns can be accessed through www. philstar.com.