POLITICS | The city's political war rages on

Supporters of both Bando Osmena and Team Rama slug it out online and over the radio as the division in the city smoulders beyond the heat of the election season. No end is in sight as allegations of empty coffers fly in the face of the latest COA report admonishing the city for spending beyond its capability to keep its cash flowing. Several obligations of the city like the GSIS premiums of its employees are reportedly unpaid to date. (Read more)

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?

NEWS | Sanchez-Zaballero wins as Board member

Gigi Sanchez-Zaballero, daughter of the late Vice Governor Greg Sanchez won as Board member representing Cebu's Third District. She replaces Board member Ian Zambo who lost.

Sanchez-Zaballero got 87,536 votes, next to Alex Binghay who got 106,733. Zambo placed third with  84,143.

(Photo from her Facebook page)

NEWS | Labella is Vice Mayor

Councilor Edgardo Labella has been declared winner in Cebu City's Vice-Mayoralty race ending days of speculations as to who won in the tight race.

He defeated Vice Mayor Joy Augustus Young by a mere 184 votes decided by election returns from three remaining barangays, namely:  Mambaling, Luz and Cambinocot. Young won in these three barangays but it wasn't enough to offset Labella's lead. Labella garnered 203,267 votes as against Young's 203,083 votes.

The camp of defeated Vice-Mayoralty candidate Young is set to file an election protest for the inclusion of rejected ballots in the count.

NEWS | Gwen now Congresswoman

Suspended Cebu Governor Gwendolyn Garcia has been declared winner in a hotly-contested election for Representative of Cebu's Third Congressional District vacated by his younger brother Pablo John Garcia who ran as Governor.

Garcia leads her rival Geraldine Yapha by just 1,984 votes after garnering 105,424 votes as against Yapha's 103,440.

Still serving a six-month suspension meted by the Office of the President for a case filed by the late Vice Governor Greg Sanchez, Garcia left the Cebu Provincial Capitol after being holed up inside for more than a month to campaign for the congressional post in Cebu's Midwest.

She also campaigned for her brother who is now trailing Hilario Davide, Jr, son of Former Chief Justice Hilario Davide Sr. in the race for the province's top executive post.

POLITICS | Back in the campaign trail

Even before the dust could settle in the May 13 elections, Tomas Osmena is back in the campaign trail with "guns blazing". He says, he is not conceding defeat to Rama citing probable  irregularities in the election. Probably buoyed by his allies' victory in the province and the city, he is restarting the engines of his political machinery.

He earlier said he would be leaving for the States and dismissed his Cebu City loss as a temporary setback but now questions the electoral process. With allies in the Capitol, Cebu City's congressional districts and in the province's first, second and sixth districts, he seems more entrenched politically than ever and is setting the stage for an election protest.

Rama now faces a long and protracted battle with a more determined Osmena. Although he failed to capitalize on his being the Liberal Party's candidate in the May 13 polls, Osmena isn't hanging his gloves yet. On the contrary, he is rearing to do another round of political fist blows. Despite his victory, Rama now stands politically isolated as a result of UNA's loss in the province and the rest of the country. More headaches await him should  Joy Young win as vice mayor.

With Davide at Capitol (helped by an incumbent's advantage resulting from Gwen Garcia's suspension) and Gullas reconciled with Osmena, Rama can only count on the support of Gwen, Third District's likely Congressional winner and Fourth District's Benhur Salimbangon. Rama has to build new alliances now as Osmena will surely give him problems once more. The battle for 2016 elections has just begun. Get a ringside ticket now.

POLITICS | A Catholic swing vote?

Dr. Rene Joseph Bullecer announced over radio station Bombo Radyo his group of Catholics have provided for Mayor Michael Rama the swing votes needed to win Cebu City's mayoralty race. Prior to the elections, survey conducted by students of the University of San Carlos found Osmena leading the mayoralty race over Rama. Election results, however, show the opposite. Could this be due to what Bullecer said - a Catholic Church swing vote? (Read more)