If the present trend of events continues, this will be one election experience that the people of Tagbilaran will not forget. Unlike any other election in the past, this will probably be the first time when political parties matter little in the outcome. This late in the day, candidates are still trying to make something out of the political equation and it is doubtful whether something familiar will emerge at the end of the day. Mayor Dan Lim has repeatedly declared that he is giving little importance to political parties. That may not exactly come as a surprise given that Lim has been unorthodox in many ways. And yet, that should not be too difficult to expect in the sense that there has been very little distinctions between and among political parties in the Philippines today. Except for a few, most parties do not have ideologies or identities to differentiate one from the other.

In many countries, political parties define the identities of most candidates. While individual charisma certainly is a bonus factor, people gravitate to a political party not so much because of who are in it but because of what it stands for. Not so in the Philippines . Political parties come and go like the tropical typhoons that visit the country. The more powerful they are at their peak, the more destruction they leave behind when they bow out. Lim could be delivering the message that political parties are on the way out as far as politics in the city is concerned. That is not difficult to understand though.

The names of political parties hardly mean anything. In most cases, there are only two parties in every election: the party of those who are in power and that of those who want to replace them. There is however a sidebar to the election in the city – the choice between the past represented by Torralba and the future represented by Lim. Torralba had all his chances in a total of 14 years at city hall compared to only three years by Lim.

Since the term is good for three years, voters will have to consider this when they make the choice. It is not that simple though when considered in the light of the contrasting opportunities for the two. What can Torralba possibly do in three years that he was not able to do in 14? On the other hand, what can Lim do with three more years? This time, candidates will have to go through a fine-tooth comb because voters will not be voting according to slates but based on individual strengths. Without equivocation, the party is over in Tagbilaran.