The secrecy of it all was practically hidden from public scrutiny as long as two months ago until City Mayor Dan Neri Lim broke the news to the Post yesterday. The revelation that Gov. Edgar Chatto has abandoned Lakas-NUCD and is now virtually a member of the ruling Liberal Party (LP) was confirmed the other night by a source privy to the news. The source who requested anonymity due to the sensitive nature of the issue told the Post about Chatto’s affiliation after he was pressed for comment. The same source added that LP president Mar Roxas swore Chatto as a new party member. But Cong. Rene Relampagos of the first district who was the first LP convert in Bohol refused to answer text messages asking for his comment about this new political development. How privy Mayor Lim to the swearing in rites remains to be seen but he appeared “swearing before the grave of his ancestors” that indeed Chatto is it as new LP member.

In an exclusive interview yesterday, Lim said that “only the official pronouncement and photo ops are lacking”. The revelation of the city mayor came as no surprise as it has become public knowledge “that there’s no love lost between the two political stalwarts”. Lim even bolstered his inside information that he has it from a good authority that Chatto attended two LP gatherings this month alone, reinforcing suspicions that he would be joining the new administration party. True to his outspoken nature, Lim said “Chatto was only being true to form as a political butterfly”. Lim said the governor has always shifted allegiance to the new party in power and the LP is no exception. The mayor said Chatto attended a gathering at the Balay, a reference to the residence of Transportation and Communications Secretary Manuel Roxas III last June 6. It was an informal gathering of LP members led by Speaker Feliciano Belmonte particularly congressmen and local government officials.

Chatto was with Rep. Relampagos of the first district. Relampagos, who won with the Lakas-LDP ticket led by the governor in last year’s elections. The first district solon, jumped ship to the LP even before his term officially started. Lim said the governor also attended a gathering of Liberals from different countries at the Manila Peninsula last Friday. The gathering is being hosted by the Philippines by virtue of the incumbency of Pres. Benigno Simeon Aquino III to the highest position in the land. Lim said his source told him the international gathering is held once every three years. The mayor admitted that nothing can prevent Chatto from joining the LP but wondered why it is being kept secret. “Other top Lakas officials in Bohol were very much surprised when they learned that he has started to attend LP gatherings,” he added. Lim said there is now a general feeling of disillusionment among the Lakas officials who felt betrayed by Chatto’s actions. “It is not because they do not want to join LP but because they were neither consulted nor informed,” he added.

The mayor said that Lakas officials suspect that Chatto wants to make sure he will be accepted into the LP first before informing his former party mates. According to Lim, the entry of Chatto into the LP formalizes the break-up of the Lakas in Bohol. “There is no more one-for-all, all-for-one in Bohol,” he added, referring to the supposed pact among the top Lakas officials including Chatto, Vice Gov. Concepcion Lim, Relampagos and Representatives Erico Aumentado and Arthur Yap. Lim said that Chatto obviously is leaving Aumentado and Yap to their own political plans for the future. The mayor said the governor’s self-preservation was evident by his silence on his actuations during his radio program last Friday. “I was expecting him to at least hint of his attendance at the LP program later that day but there was none so it means he wants to keep it a secret,” he added.

Lim said that with the break-up of the old Lakas machinery, Chatto actually lost two incumbent congressmen in Aumentado and Yap. “Both of them (Chatto and Relampagos) are from the first district so the equation is not favorable to them,” he added. Lim said that with his decision to join the LP, Chatto vindicated Aumentado whom he accused of being a double-agent in the last election. “It is he who is a traitor to Lakas when he abandoned it without even a formal resignation,” the mayor added. The mayor said he cannot imagine how it feels to move around in the LP circles after being on the opposite camp but added that Chatto is no stranger to this.

Lim believes that Chatto’s defection will trigger a realignment in Bohol because there are still many officials who are loyal to Lakas. He also wondered how Chatto’s entry will be welcomed by actor Cesar Montano and Dr. Elpidio Jala who bannered the LP campaign in Bohol in the last election. “Definitely, they were not consulted or informed and now they will be dumped by the entry of the new members who are actually their enemies in the old Lakas,” Lim added. The mayor said that if Chatto was not able to make much of his being an administration member since the time of former Pres. Ferdinand Marcos until the term of ex-Pres. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, he does not expect much from the governor’s new allegiance to the LP. He said the defection is not about what Chatto can bring to the province or to the people. “It will only for his own political survival,” Lim concluded.