By MELVIN PURZUELO
Green Forum Western Visayas
ILOILO CITY. —As if the automation of the May 10 polls were not complicated enough, local political formations here are making the upcoming elections more confusing.
Mayor Jerry Trenas, who is running for congressman, and Vice Mayor Jed Mabilog, who is running for mayor, have formed an alliance with only the two of them as common candidates. Trenas supports the Nacionalista Party (NP) for the national positions while Mabilog is with the Liberal Party (LP).
For the local positions, Trenas has endorsed his brother-in-law, Councilor Jose Espinosa III for vice mayor with his set of councilors while Mabilog has expressed support for Councilor Julliene Baronda of Partido ng Masang Pilipino (PMP) and her own set of councilors. These councilors are also running under different political parties.
Trenas and Mabilog were allied with former justice secretary Raul Gonzalez in the 2007 elections but they are now bitter contenders. Trenas has accused the Gonzalez camp of masterminding the grenade-throwing incident in the mayor’s bakeshop and ancestral house last March.
Gonzalez, previously an NP stalwart, is running for mayor while his son, Rep. Raul Gonzalez Jr., is seeking reelection under the Lakas-Kampi-CMD. Antonio Pesina is running for vice mayor with the Gonzalezes.
They eased out one of the original Kampi leaders, Lorenzo Jamora, a former administrator of the Local Water Utilities Administration, now running for mayor as an Independent. Allied with Jamora are former mayor Mansueto Malabor who is running for congressman and Dr. Aquilles Hortillosa, for vice mayor.
Surveys showed that Trenas and Mabilog have been rating well, scoring nearly 50 percent, but an observer said that the Gonzalez’s 20 percent are a solid bloc because it consists of loyal followers.