A possible comeback
By Atty. Aleckoy Lim
November 12, 2006 The Bohol Standard
There are no permanent friends and no permanent enemies in politics. This is not a new revelation but it has taken a new meaning in the town of Lila .
Once, Mayor Telly Balagosa and Vice Mayor Edwin Cahatol were on the same side of the political fence. Unless a compromise is reached, they are set to go up against each other in next year’s mayoralty election.
In 1998, the two had conspired to bring down the reign of former Mayor Alfonso Lim in Lila. Lim’s wife Royeth was then Lila mayor but there was no doubt that it was her husband who wielded real power in the town.
The coalition between Balagosa and Cahatol succeeded in bringing down the Lims and they repeated this in the last election when they were reelected into their respective positions.
Coalitions that were born out of convenience do not last long and the Balagosa-Cahatol alliance is no exception.
With Cahatol now ineligible for reelection after completing his third consecutive term as vice mayor, there is no other way to go but up. Believing that he is now ready for the top post of the town, Cahatol does not care anymore if he will have to burn bridges and fight his old political ally.
Of course, Cahatol and Balagosa will now exchange issues and allegations of wrongdoing against each other. They will have to do that to justify their refusal to step aside for the other party.
To many people however, it is simply because they now have to fight over the same position. They have to destroy each other if needed to get hold of the position.
I do not intend to pass judgment over either Balagosa or Cahatol. More than anybody else, it is the people of Lila who know them more closely and who are in the best position to do that in next year’s election.
The point is that this is going to happen even to the closest friends. In fact, there have been instances in other places where brothers ran and fought against each other for the same reason.
In this case, both Balagosa and Cahatol now have to make a move which they possibly would not like to do under better circumstances. That is to try to win over the Lims to their side.
While the Lims had lost in the previous elections, they are now in the position to tilt the balance in Lila. Unless there are other factors that surface between now and the elections, the Lims will determine who will become the next mayor of Lila.
If Balagosa and Cahatol are evenly divided, the Lims can stage a comeback.
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