THE two protagonists in the city's mayoralty race have a common denominator. Both Bacolod Mayor Monico Puentevella and Rep. Evelio Leonardia have lost former allies who bolted their respective camps. Puentevella's loss, however, was not as a big as Leonardia's. Though, by comparison, the situation is almost similar at "3 and 3." Former City Administrator Rolando Villamor and Councilors El Cid Familiaran and Archie Baribar used to be allies of Puentevella. They are now running either as independent or under the rival party, the Grupo Progreso (GP). Familiaran who seeks the vice mayoralty post is Leonardia's running mate while independent bets Baribar and Villamor are hoping to replace Leonardia as lone district congressman. Practically, it's only Familiaran who crossed the "enemy line" to join the competitor. The same couldn't be said of Baribar and Villamor who, despite a falling out with Puentevella's MKK (Magbinuligay Kita Sa Kauswagan), have yet to declare war with the latter group. This means that they may or they may not campaign against the re-electionist mayor. More so, except for Familiaran who now belongs to GP, Baribar and Villamor have not endorsed any candidate for mayor. Differently positioned are Leonardia's original allies who opted for a coalition with Puentevella. Former Vice Mayor Jude Thaddeus Sayson, who is running for congressman under the National Unity Party-MKK ticket, has brought former Councilor Homer Bais to the coalition. Re-electionist Councilor Alex Paglumotan aligned with the MKK group several months after the 2013 polls. All three haven't only formalized their union with Puentevella but have vowed to campaign for the latter's re-election. Having said that, their supporters are expected to augment the throng of Puentevella followers, which makes the team even stronger and difficult to beat. Aside from being popular as a well-mannered and easy-to-like politician, Sayson has the support of one of the most sought-after clans in the city. The family alone can deliver thousands of votes to whoever they would support. This is where the "winning factor" lies. Five-corner fight As more candidates battle for a single post, the winning number of votes, naturally, lowers. With five bets vying for the city's congressional seat, pundits are saying that anybody who gets 35 percent of the total votes cast (from the more than 260,000 Bacolod voters) will win the contest. This means that if there will be 80 percent turnout, or about 210,000 votes, the winning candidate would only need to get 35 percent of it or a little over 70,000 votes. But considering the fact that all five candidates are strong contenders, the winning number may even become lower, depending on the actual number of votes cast and how the other candidates would perform at the polls. This situation would favor those with existing organizations and enough resources. Talking about organization, Sayson and Vice Mayor Greg Gasataya are ahead of the other aspirants. Sayson has the MKK while Gasataya has GP. Of the two, it's Sayson who has the southern bailiwick and this puts him at an advantage. However, Baribar and Villamor are also enjoying the organizational support of the progressive bloc though their rivalry is seen to split their mass base. When it comes to resources, it's Councilor Carl Lopez who has the upper hand. The richest public official Bacolod ever had, Lopez has more than P400 million worth of assets and spending only a quarter of it may already send him to the Congress. Indeed, the congressional race, just like the mayoralty battle between Puentevella and Leonardia, will be very tough. By ROMY NIERE
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