With Congressman Benhur Salimbangon (Cebu, 4th district) declining to run in tandem with former Cebu governor Emilio “Lito” Osmeña in next year’s gubernatorial race, the question of who will be Lito’s running mate is animating political tsikahan in Cebu nowadays.
As has been reported, Lito visited Benhur in his residence in barangay Curva, Medellin last Friday, a “pleasant surprise” of a visit which took only less than an hour, according to the lawmaker in a talk with this corner. He turned down the offer because as a two-term congressman, he still has another term left to run for the same office.
What Benhur did not reveal to the visitor is that he has no plans of leaving the district anytime. In fact, he is in the process of fortifying his district-wide leadership by filing with the Commission on Elections an application for the accreditation of a local party, to be known either as “Lumad” or “Nagkahiusang Katawhan sa Kuarto Distrito.”
According to Benhur, his group submitted the accreditation papers four months ago and they expect positive action from the Comelec in a couple of weeks.
The decision of the Salimbangons to build a local party is intriguing because Lito’s political comeback will trigger a realignment of forces principally in the fourth district. Curiously, Benhur mentioned this in a newspaper interview and he could well be referring to the political climate in his own backyard.
The Osmeñas count on the political elite in the district as among their staunch supporters since pre-martial law days. It will be interesting to watch how the influence of the sugar barons in Bogo, Medellin and San Remigio will play out in the coming local elections. The district has 250,000 registered voters.
Lito’s gubernatorial bid is said to have been triggered by reports that incumbent Cebu Governor Hilario “Junjun” Davide III will run unopposed in next year’s polls.
The scenario of Junjun running minus a worthy opponent is plausible because the Garcias are reportedly not keen to challenge Malacanang’s political arrangement in Cebu at this time. Besides, between the Capitol seat and representation of the 3rd district in the House, incumbent Rep. Gwendolyn Garcia can easily win a second term. The expression, “If it ain’t broke, why fix it” applies to Gwen in this case.
Gwen is identified with embattled Vice President Jejomar Binay who heads the opposition United Nationalist Alliance (UNA). With her out of the gubernatorial picture, is UNA’s backing Lito’s candidacy for the asking?
The race for Cebu governor next year is shaping up to be a blockbuster. For one thing, it could forge an alliance between the Osmeñas and the Garcias. For another, Lito and his brother, Toledo City Mayor John “Sonny” Osmeña, are now in good terms and I think the political clan is not about to ride off into the sunset without proving for one last time that Cebu is Osmeña country.
We will see the scatter, to quote international boxing superstar, Manny Pacquiao.
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Party-list politics is already mainstream but surprisingly it does not quite generate the kind of interest that traditional politics does. However, there’s interesting development in the world of party-list politics, in particular the representation of co-operatives in Congress.
The most prominent party-list representing the coop sector in the Lower House is Coop Natcco which is led by two nominees Cresente “Cres” Paez and Anthony Bravo in that particular order. Coop Natcco is the political arm of one of the country’s largest secondary cooperatives, Natcco Network. The federation has more than 600 affiliates nationwide serving 3 million stakeholders who collectively own the network’s assets of P2 billion.
The trend in financial institutions nowadays is consolidation, because it is the only way to survive in the global market. This is a direction that Natcco and partner Mass Specc apparently subscribes to as it moves closer to consolidation within the year.
Mass Specc is the biggest secondary cooperative in Mindanao, while Natcco Network is basically a Visayan-bred federation.
In a recent talk over “Co-op TV,” `Natcco Visayas regional manager Maria Antonieta Arriola revealed the Natcco and Mass Specc merger contemplates a financial resource that will be able to compete with its traditional rivals but one that will stay closely with its core mission of serving the poor.
With assets expected to breach P5 billion and stakeholders totaling at least 5 million, Coop Natcco Party List looks like a clean winner in next year’s party list elections.