IT’S ALL over. Even the shouting. Even the last burst and bang of the celebratory fireworks.
Time for the joyful anatomy of victory and the dreadful autopsy of defeat. Time for bragging rights over predictions come true and embarrassing acceptance of failed, if fearful, forecasts. Albeit fast, and furiously.
Leaving deeper analyses to some future columns.
The Iglesia ni Cristo vote holding on to its primacy as tipping point in the electoral contest in Angeles City – the margin of Mayor Ed Pamintuan’s re-election over Cong Tarzan Lazatin, near-perfectly corresponding to the bruited-about number of INC votes – 16,000 – in the city.
The INC too spelling the come-from-behind victory of Coach Yeng Guiao over cool Blueboy Nepomuceno in the first district in the margin of some 20,000 votes in the partial, unofficial tally.
Serving also as one of the seven pillars that collapsed on and buried re-electing 3rd District Rep. Dong Gonzales was the INC bloc – now presumptive Cong. Oca Rodriguez making one on his own, with President PNoy, the Pinedas, GMA, the mayors, and the cause-oriented groups comprising the others.
Yeah, I was spared of my vow to kneel – even prostrate myself – before Cong Dong if he won his re-election against such impossible odds. For then he would have most certainly been certified as the greatest of the political gods hereabouts.
Perennial also-ran in the Arayat mayorship Bon Alejandrino made it this time, with the INC vote. And I said, if vaguely, in a televised pre-election forecast that the once Huk supremo could very well end his political losses in these elections.
Failed I did in tagging Minalin’s Katoy Naguit as shoo-in, the INC factor but one of several considerations, for another win against comebacking Edgar Flores.
Though, along with Jun Sula, I made some definitive pronouncement – over CLTV-36 last Tuesday – of a Rimpy Bondoc win in the fourth district, I did some reconsideration and deemed Candaba’s Jerry Pelayo “very much capable” of upsetting the Harvard grad when John Lloyd snatched the INC vote from him at the penultimate hour. Still, the mastery of the Macabebe champions over the Candaba upstarts prevailed.
The governorship, the vice governorship and the second district congressional districts as surveyed, as foretold, were no contest. No matter the illusions and delusions uploaded – though barely shared – in some facebook accounts of the once and ever-running governor “already gaining 47 percent” of the vote.
Aye, Among Ed’s running mate, Mai Tiglao-Cayanan having some 20,000 more votes than him.
So how do we account for that difference?
Simple, more than 20,000 voted for Cayanan with Lilia G. Pineda as their choice for governor?
To what can we attribute this?
That’s part of the anti-dynasty vote. They like the mother but did not want the son to be spared of a dynasty at the Capitol.
Got to end it here for now.
