ANALYSIS | Tomas Osmena as Julius Caesar

For many people, Tomas and Joy Young's loss didn't add up. For them, last election's results were erratic, wild, inconsistent.

Ironically, the results, except for that of the position of mayor and vice mayor, are consistent with previous Cebu City elections. BOPK as in elections past, swept the congressional race for the city's two districts. It also almost swept the council race. The fact that four of the opposition bets won is also consistent with the results when Alvin ran for reelection against Tomas. Team Rama's performance mimic too that of Kusug in elections past.

What was abnormal as far as BOPK is concerned was the defeat of its mayoral and vice mayoral bets. The party in all the elections it participated in the past delivered consistent results for its entire slate. But this time, something untoward happened. And BOPK is groping for answers.

The results at a glance would mean within BOPK, some junking of candidates happened involving no less than the party head. For how else would you explain the victory of almost everyone except for the standard bearer?

If so, the junking didn't come from the party head himself who would be in the position to make such order for that would be illogical. It could have come from someone else, equally influential, someone outside BOPK perhaps, working inside, loosening screws, cutting wires within the BOPK machinery enough to upset the election results. For sure, those involved won't tell surveys their choices and schemes.

Is Tomas losing control over his own party? If he is, filing an election protest is an exercise in futility. It's  like cutting the wrong tree.  Like Caesar, he may have to ask the difficult question, Et tu, Brute?

INSIGHT | Split in Cebu City LP

By J.D. VELEZ | Blogger

(Rama bolts BOPK - local papers banner today in their headlines. The mayor said he doesn't have to affiliate with a local party as he is with the Liberal Pary)

When Pnoy first came to Cebu to campaign for the 2010 elections, the BOPK and the Rama clan were in full force at the Sacred Heart Center where the welcome gathering was held. However, two personalities were ominously not there. One is Tomas Osmena and the other is Noynoy pointman and former Kusug stalwart Totol Batuhan. Both had issues about that event. Little did we know their absence was a telltale sign of things that were to unravel a year later.


Totol and Mike's cousin, Ricky Rama Poca had ties with Pnoy through their Ateneo friends. Both are Ateneo alumni and both became key persons in Pnoy's first visit to Cebu during the campaign.

Totol organized the following day in the same center another event - the launching of Noynoy Aquino for President Movement (NAPM). Both Pnoy and Mar attended it. It was during a lull in the event when Totol told me about Chiz not running anymore for president, days before Chiz withdrew his candidacy.

I'm talking about these as I see a realignment in the city's LP leadership. Rama is emboldened to leave BOPK  as he sees support from LP which is far from unified itself. I won't be surprised if Binay's group is supporting him. I know for sure Tomas is with the Mar group as he was first loyal to Mar, and for sure the NoyBis would not have approached him.

I won't be surprised if Totol runs as BOPK candidate for congressman come 2013 and Tomas makes a comeback bid for city hall. As for Rama and his probable NoyBi backing, I still have to see what they have up their sleeves. It won't be surprising, that's for sure. Things like these are cooked up for quite some time.