UNTIL the homestretch, most people expected it to be a two-way race. Until the fog began to clear to reveal that it is a three-cornered race after all – with three-term Tagbilaran City Councilor Dandan Bantugan coming in silently but strongly behind the two. Yes, Virginia. Bantugan admits without even batting an eyelash that he wanted to be tagged the underdog given the political war chest of his opponents. “My weakness is their strength”, he quickly concedes. By weakness, Bantugan was referring to his want of logistics to sustain his candidacy up to the PCL elections on Wednesday. Since Day One of the campaign for the PCL presidency, Bantugan was all by his lonesome in town sorties unlike the retinue of cordon sanitaires of his opponents. What keeps his campaign moving is the personal relationships with city and municipal councilors coupled with some connections from family members and friends. At several points, he even intertwined court hearings in towns with his campaign sorties just to maximize his time and logistics. But there was never a point in his bid that Bantugan lost hope of capturing the PCL presidency. “I do maintain and uphold the integrity and honor of my fellow councilors. That is why it is never mentioned about dangling them monetary considerations in exchange for their support. It is not proper to discuss these things publicly because it smacks of their honorable positions”, Bantugan said. If only qualifications and ability would be the gauge in the PCL presidential elections, most legislators will pick Bantugan hands down. But given the reality of any political exercise, his resume as a veteran city legislator, a lawyer, a law professor and a media practitioner can hardly be a comfortable gauge to spring an upset in the race sans a well-oiled machinery. This is the reason why he was and still is the underdog in the three-man race. He was just hoping against hope that along the way, some Good Samaritans will come to the rescue and provide the much-needed logistical support in his candidacy.

Then came the manna from heaven yesterday. In his weekly “Mayor's Report” over Station DYRD yesterday morning, City Mayor Dan Neri Lim publicly declared he is giving Bantugan his all out support, just short of saying that the good city's chief executive will bankroll Bantugan's PCL bid. The city mayor's open declaration came at a time when Bantugan's two other opponents were reported to have started giving their “dole-outs” to municipal councilors in connection with the scheduled Wednesday”s PCL elections at Bohol Tropics this city. All of a sudden, Lim's pronouncements provided the twist in Bantugan's PCL bid, analogous to that of a case from rags to riches. Bantugan however insists the support he is getting is merely the icing on the cake. He said he is encouraged by the feedback from the councilors most of whom insist they want change. The reason for this is not difficult to fathom. The councilors are not asking for the moon. They are not even looking for impressive credentials. They only want a semblance of a federation. Which goes to show there is not even a semblance of such an organization notwithstanding desperate claims to the contrary. Bantugan said this was precisely the reason why he insisted on running even though he was running short of logistics. He believes he has what it takes to spring a surprise Nearly every councilor is capable of running the organization. The difference is that there are only three candidates who are in the running,” he added. This is the reason why Bantugan is comfortable about his underdog image – the awareness that the councilors themselves want change and are looking for a choice. There is no problem with being an underdog. The important thing is the number of votes he will get in his favor. He who laughs last laughs loudest.