Whoever says that money is not everything. Either this guy was born yesterday or he is out of touch of the realities of the times. Go not any further. Just be appraised of the complexion of the coming elections in the local level. In the provincial derby for governor, the camp of Mayor Che of Carmen is flaunting that it has the war chest to scuttle the political machinery of incumbent Gov. Edgar Chatto. If reports in the field are to be believed, Mayor Che and his confederates are handing out cash as if they are handing out disposable lighters. Every meeting that they arranged for their so-called followers of ‘Bag-ong Bolanon’, the going rate is P300.00 each participant who signed up for the group. For this purpose, think of how many meetings have they held since storming the campaign trail. That’s a lot of P300 per person, per meeting.

The way they spend, it is as if money grows on trees. More likely if his rah rah boys are to be believed. The buzz is that they are spending up to P250 million in this coming elections. With that kind of money fortress, don’t you think it will not send shivers down the spine of Chatto? But for the incumbent, he seems to be a believer of the saying “silent waters run deep, shallow water is all noise”. For an election veteran like Chatto, it’s all sound and fury signifying nothing. With his firm hold of practically all the mayors and with it the concomitant control of the local police, even if the camp of Mayor Che will set up buying stations or redemption centers in every nook and cranny in any town in Bohol, still those manning them will have to contend with the whim and caprice of who is calling the shots in the municipalities. The city mayoralty derby is no different.

Showing signs this early that the city mayoralty contest is the showcase hereabouts of money politics, all three candidates are bracing up to capture, fair or foul, the mayoralty plum with all guns blazing and amidst the glitter of gold. For all intents and purposes, this is one fight where money is the order of the day because each political combatant and his uncles have sounded the alarm buttons that losing is not an option. Even the low profile Dr. Abe Lim, backstopped by the formidable machinery of his incumbent brother, the city’s mayor for nine years, is not losing sleep that he will just fold up and surrender the coveted mayoralty trophy to his two contenders. According to reports on the ground, the captured votes nurtured by his kid brother, Mayor Dan Neri Lim, are enough power base to give his opponents a run for their money. All through the years,,the same captive vote is all their to be tapped for the right baton leader when the final reckoning comes on May 13. Hounded no less by his American boy moniker, Dr. Abe, all throughout the campaign stumps managed to wiggle out from the unsavory label and came out as a candidate of choice to practically all segments of the electorate. And Baby Yap? Defintely no pushover, in the three-way race, the young upstart is leading the surveys because of his rock star appeal.

Over time, this image was converted into massive support representing the women and youth vote. Good looking from all angles, young Baba is proven to be a man to beat as surveys after surveys showed him ahead of the pack. Although derided to be a mama’ s boy, the neophypte politician proved to one and sundry that he is his own man and can hold on his own even if he’s untied to the apron’s strings of her wealthy parents. No question that he was born with a silver spoon. To his credit, Baba succeeded to package himself as a candidate representing the rich and the famous while at the same time cultivating a wholesome image to earn brownies points for the poor majority. Plucked from the ash heap of obscurity as a Manila boy, lawyer Dodong Gonzaga is a phenomenon in itself as he rises to the totem pole of becoming the next mayor of Tagbilaran. As a candidate of the dominant Liberal Party, Gonzaga is enjoying the funancial muscle of his in-laws who were reported to have apportioned a substantive portion of their money to propel the victoy of their “bayaw”. The most prominent of the in-laws is the Ongs of BQ fame. Not one to be visibly identified to any politician, this time around, the Ongs cannot escape notice that they are all-out for Dodong’s bid because they have too much to lose in terms of their business interests should anybody other than their protegee wins. Of course, the crown jewel of Dodong’s bid is the support of his other in-law, Cong. Rene Relampagos. No novice in the rough and tumble ways of Bohol politics, Cong. Rene is the vital cog of Dodong’s ambition to become the next mayor of Tagbilaran. All told, the city mayoralty combat featuring the three wannabes is nobody’s game. With money at their disposal, there’s no way why they can say without equivocation that in this coming city polls, losing is not option because money, after all , is not a problem.

ABE LIM STATEMENT

We will continue to 1) highlight the benefits of DNL programs, 2) promote our line-up’s experiences and track records. 3) show our vision/goal to RAISE all the living status of all Tagbilaranons starting with implementation of the minimum wages. Personally, I want to raise my name recognition to 90% without the media. Overall, nothing change except our intensity.