Is ex-Mayor Jose Torralba testing the political waters for a mayoralty comeback? This question cropped up last week when Torralba summoned his prominent leaders to a meeting last Wednesday. The meeting, held at the former mayor's residence, read like a who's who of the political opposition in the city. Among those who attended the meeting were City Councilors Anne Marikit Oppus and Bebiano Inting and barangay captains Niño Racho, Glorivic de la Serna, Fortunato Cosap and Fredison Ingles. A source claimed that Vice Mayor Jose Antonio Veloso, Councilor Zenaido Rama and Poblacion II barangay councilman Roberto Alba were not present.The three are the most vocal critics of incumbent Mayor Dan Lim and expected to figure prominently in the opposition line-up in the city.

It was not known however if the three were invited but just did not show up for whatever reason. Councilors Leonides Borja and Lucio Balbin, who won under the Torralba-Veloso ticket in the 2007 polls, were also conspicuously absent from the meeting. Those who attended the meeting declined to reveal the agenda discussed during the gathering but indications point to another serious bid by Torralba for the seat he held for 14 years. According to a member of the group who declined to be named, it is only logical that Torralba be the one to call the meeting being the party chairman in the city.

The source said the absence of Veloso and Rama should not be misinterpreted as a rift in the group. He however refused to comment on reports that Torralba and Veloso had a falling out just before the last elections when the latter virtually junked the former to ensure his victory when Lim's reelection became apparent. The source clammed up even more when asked whether it was true that a heated confrontation occurred between a family member the former mayor and a special operations operative of vice mayor. Despite his defeat to Lim in 2007, Torralba continues to enjoy the respect of most of the Lakas leaders in the city, many of whom he personally handpicked and to whom he has dispensed political favors during his long reign at City Hall.

On the other hand, many leaders are wary of Veloso who was the architect of the move to oust former Vice Mayor Nuevas Tirol-Montes from the party and eventually unseated her in the elections.   “If he was able to do that to Vice Mayor Montes, he can also do that by seizing control of the party from Mayor Torralba,” a Torralba leader warned. The leader said that since the defeat of the former mayor in 2007, Veloso no longer gave him prominence in the group. Although he has not formally declared his desire to run for mayor, Veloso is expected to challenge Lim because of the gubernatorial aspirations of his brother-in-law, Rep. Edgar Chatto. The problem is that while the political is already starting to boil, Veloso seems to have forgotten about Torralba who is the acknowledged leader of the political opposition in the city.