Where is the local elections here headed?

Here''s good news and bad news scenario! The good news is the widening of Escario St. will finally start this Tuesday. The bad news is, someone gave a building permit to construct another hotel in front of the Parklane Hotel. That brings us to the question: Where will they widen this road and why has the construction of this new hotel started? Ezz a puzzlement!

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The BO-PK rally last Wednesday night was one of the biggest rallies I''ve seen at the Fuente Osmeña in recent memory. I have to hand it to Mayor Tomas Osmeña and his party. They can really bring a huge crowd without any "hakot" when they call for one. Call that a true-blue "Show of Force" which was designed to let Pres. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo (GMA) and her Team Unity know that the BO-PK will deliver the votes when asked!

I wasn''t planning on going to the rally until I saw a lot of people bringing placards for Lea Ouano, Jack Jakosalem and Edgardo Labella holding a torch parade that passed through our office building. So I joined the crowd and since the Presidential Security Group (PSG) was quite strict and refused to let anyone enter the Fuente Osmeña circle, I decided to stay with the crowd, which is the best way to feel the pulse of the voters. Alas, GMA wasn''t feeling well, but I''m sure that the Senatoriables of Team Unity felt good that in Cebu City, they will get a lot of votes from Cebuanos!

In Cebu City, there is no question that the BO-PK will trounce the opposition in all levels. For instance, no one will argue with me that Rep. Raul del Mar is a shoo in for another term in Congress. In the South District, they say that Rep. Tony Cuenco is fighting hard to keep his seat in Congress. But after that so-called "Show of Force" in Punta Princesa called by his political rival for the Genuine Opposition (GO) where less than a thousand people showed up, that should tell you that Tony Cuenco is also headed for reelection. Add the BOPK rally the other night in Fuente and you will know where the Congressional race in the South District is headed for.

In the Province of Cebu, there is no question that Governor Gwen F. Garcia will be re-elected as Governor simply because she has made an impact throughout the Province of Cebu that after all, good governance results in popularity, which in turn results in votes. That issue of plunder thrown at her for the construction of Cebu International Convention Center (CICC) has helped her campaign, especially when she came out in public with a full accounting for this project. This only boomeranged against her critics and her political rivals and added more votes to her campaign.

Mind you, Gov. Garcia narrowly won over Junnie Martinez in the 2004 elections, when only a very few people knew who she really was. Now Cebuanos, especially from the far-flung areas know who their governor is. I''m sure that they would gladly give her another term of office.

In the 6th District, Rep. Nerry Soon is without any doubt a great performer in Congress having represented the Cities of Mandaue, Lapu-Lapu and the town of Consolacion since the 9th, the 10th, the 12th and the 13th Congress! She even got a commendation from the UNAIDS organization for helping amend Republic Act. No.8504 the AID''s Law and her involvement in the Regional AIDS Commission. Her work isn''t limited only to the 6th District, but the entire Visayas! Surely she''s headed for another term in Congress.

As for who''s winning in the mayoralty race in Mandaue City, the respective surveys from Jonkie Ouano and Jonas Cortes show that they are leading the pack. So in this tight race, whom should we believe? I did get a more neutral survey from the Geopoll Data Bank and Research Center of Makati, which was quite revealing, that of the 1,052 respondents 35.07 percent showed Jonkie Ouano in the lead, followed by Jonas Cortes at 26, 53 percent collated from 796 respondents.

In the Congressional race, Nerissa Soon-Ruiz is leading by 33.83 percent, followed by Tingting dela Serna at 27. 10 percent and Luigi Quisumbing at 24.70 percent. Like I said, this is a neutral survey. I only hope that there won''t be cheating in Mandaue, especially during the counting so the true sentiment of the Mandaue voter will surface.

In Lapu-Lapu City, there is no question that the Mayor''s Office will soon belong to the genteel Norma Patalingjug with Eugene Espidido as her Vice-Mayor. In the town of Bogo, once more we ask, will we see the greatest upset since the downfall of the Abineses political clan to happen against he powerful Martinez political dynasty? Junnie Martinez is pitted against Dr. Valeriano "Nonong" Hortelano. Abangan in classic David vs. Goliath political battle! Call it a long shot, but at this point, only God knows who will win because we can''t read the mind of the voters.

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