City Mayor Dan Neri Lim practically devoted the last hour of his weekly radio program “Ang Mayor sa Dakbayan” yesterday heaping lavish praises to Catigbian Mayor Roberto Salinas. Over Station DYTR, the radio program sponsored by Mayor Lim, is all of two hours. It was a surprise to the program anchor, the Post publisher, that Mayor Lim has only good words to Mayor Salinas who was reported earlier to be eyeing the first district congressional derby. According to Mayor Lim, he will be casting his lot on a Salinas candidacy if former senator Ernesto Herrera fails to make good his threat to run for the Congress seat to be vacated by incumbent Cong. Edgar Chatto. As of last report, the elder Herrera is yet to make his mind if at all he were interested in the congressional fight. There were reports that the former senator is considering a plan to regain his old seat in the Philippine Senate. It was Salinas ' congressional plan that caught the attention of Mayor Lim that he lost no time in paying glowing tribute to the Catigbian mayor. Early on, Mayor Salinas was interviewed over DYTR's Cuentas Claras where he dropped broad hints that he is considering at making a crack in the first district congressional fight.

Reliable sources revealed that no less than Gov. Erico Aumentado has groomed Salinas as the administration bet in the first district. Contacted last night to confirm the report, Mayor Salinas intimated that he was indeed informed by Aumentado of the Lakas-Kampi CMD plan to field him as first district Congress bet. What particularly impressed Mayor Lim of Salinas ' leadership was how the mayor transformed the sleepy Catigbian municipality as an emerging market center. Hyping of what he called as the “Catigbian model”, Mayor Lim said Mayor Salinas can use the same experience in developing other sleepy towns in the first district into vibrant economies. If Aumentado's recommendation of Salinas as the ruling party's first district bet has a ring of truth, then the same information fits an earlier report from NBN Channel 4 about the Lakas slate in Bohol .

The same report revealed that following the national executive committee meeting of the Lakas-Kampi CMD last week, Cong. Edgar Chatto was the standard bearer for governor while Aumentado is the ruling party's candidate in the second district. Former congressman Eladio Jala is the party's shoo-in in the third district congressional plum. But this information was quickly shot down by V-Gov. Julius Ceasar Herrera who sent a text message to the Post last night. Quoting a message from Gov. Aumentado, the vice governor said, there was no truth to the report and he urged the Post to pass the message especially to Provincial Administrator Tomas Abapo, Jr. Abapo is being groomed as Herrera's candidate for vice governor. The same NBN report also mentioned Cong. Roberto Cajes of the second district as the administration bet for vice governor.