NAGBUNGANGANG ANGHEL. Congressman-again Oscar S. Rodriguez proved himself to have spoken with the tongue of angels on May 2 last year with his declaration of the Santiago-Lazatin tandem as the next team to hold the reins of the City of San Fernando.
Punto’s banner of May 3, 2012 by-lined with my name went: Oca backs EdSa-Lazatin tandem for CSF in 2013 and carried a photo of the two captioned: OCA’S CHOICE.
The story went thus:
CITY OF SAN FERNANDO – ”The next mayor of San Fernando, after me.”
Thus Mayor Oscar S. Rodriguez introduced Vice Mayor Edwin Santiago at the observance of the 70th anniversary of the martyrdom of Chief Justice Jose Abad Santos at the Heroes Hall here.
“The next city vice mayor.” Rodriguez called Councilor Jimmy Lazatin during the same program.
Both announcements drew thunderous applause from the audience.
Even as he kept his own political plans for 2013 “officially secret,” the three-term mayor has in effect openly endorsed his choice for successor in the capital city.
A businessman present at the affair described Rodriguez’s declaration of Santiago and Lazatin as “all too serious and sounding with the strongest of conviction.”
No other member of the city council was present at both the wreath-laying ceremony at the Abad Santos monument in the early morning of Wednesday and at the program that followed.
“Maybe the councilors, especially those aspiring for vice mayor, knew beforehand that the Abad Santos Day rites would serve as the soft launching of the Santiago-Lazatin tandem,” a city hall official said.
Councilor Alex Patio is said to be considering the vice mayorship while Councilor Renato Agustin has already appended the tell-tale “VM-2013” in his seasonal streamers and tarpaulins strewn along major roads in the city.
Board Member and former City Councilor Rolly Macalino is also reported ready to enter the vice mayoralty race.
“Oca is forced-to-good with Santiago with his archenemy Dr. Rey Aquino seeking a political comeback,” said a member of one of the Masonic lodges present. “He cannot afford an Aquino win as this would put a shadow of doubt to all the allegations that the doctor mismanaged the city during his watch.”
Rodriguez’s endorsement of Santiago and Lazatin is believed to have made the tandem “the team to beat” this early.
That “team to beat” though was blasted to smithereens once the filing of certificates of candidacies came.
Jilted by Santiago in favour of Agustin, Lazatin was left clutching a bag emptied of Oca’s air. Junking most foul there.
“Privilege of the mayoralty bet to choose his running-mate.” Oca casually dismissed Santiago’s sundering of his team-up with Lazatin’s then. If his confidence in his proclaimed “next vice mayor” ever wavered, Oca did not show. But neither did he stir the slightest wave to rock the EdSa-Ato showboat.
With Aquino taking in Macalino, Lazatin became the odd-man-out – at least at first glance – in the fixed battle between the complete line-ups of Team Magsilbi Tamu and Team San Fernando.
Odd, but most certainly not out, so Lazatin showed, being the clear winner – consistently on top in surveys after surveys – even at the onset of the campaign.
Yeah, it was never anything smooth and easy for Oca’s prophetic insight to come to be. But it did. Not for working the least to fulfil it, but for just uttering it.
As the boys in the pondahan at the streetcorner are wont to say: pag ukol, bubukol. What is meant to be, will be.
That’s destiny. The city vice mayor becoming Jimmy.
