YESTERDAY, we got a message from 3rd district councilor Myrna Dalodo-Ortiz. She was reacting to an item we wrote in our column regarding her failure to land in the Magic 8 of potential winners in the forthcoming May 12 election. The list we were referring to is the result of a survey conducted by the University of Mindanao-Institute of Public Opinion (UM-IPO).
It drew out the perception of a representative group of respondents as to who they will vote for Davao City’s Mayor, Vice Mayor, Congressmen, and councilors in the May 12 election. The preferred candidates were all under the Duterte-led PDP-Laban, which is locally carried by the home-grown Hugpong sa Tawong Lungsod political party.
As we said here earlier, all those who came out as candidates supported by the Davao electorate are the men and women candidates of the former President’s party. But in yesterday’s column, we also expressed our surprise at why long-time third district councilor Dalodo-Ortiz did not come out as a choice in the third district.
Shortly before noon yesterday, we received Myrna’s message. We were hoping that the local legislator would provide us with some answers to our questions. However, she instead told us that she was as surprised as we were by the UM-IPO survey outcome. She said she is not ready to believe it as it is a contradiction to what she is apprised of as her standing in the ongoing campaign by her trusted leaders who were with her through thick and thin since she first ran as councilor years back.
Nevertheless, she said, she will endeavor to reach out to more voters and seeks to find out what made them believe she no longer deserves their support for this election. Hopefully, she told us, she intends to correct whatever misperception that may have arisen from talks emanating from other candidates.
She insisted, however, that what she had been doing and will continue to do in the City Council will only be those that she believes are beneficial to all Davaoeños, not only those from her district, but also to those from the other two administrative subdivisions of the city.
Of course, she agrees with us that the final line-up of winners, not only of the third district but also in the second and first, will be those who will be included in the top 8 after the last ballot has been counted on May 12.
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Again, if we have to consider the result of the UM-IPO survey of potential winners in all elective posts in Davao City, it looks like only a miracle–of whatever nature–can help Karlo Nograles get out of the hole he is in on his challenge to former President Rodrigo R. Duterte. The difference in the percentage of the votes that Karlo got in at survey is so low that the final winner is somewhat already known long before the end of the voting hours.
Though hopeless as it appears, it is not totally impossible for Karlo to level up with Duterte’s perceived support from the city’s population. With the remaining ten days for the campaign, he can still make adjustments on how to proceed with his campaign. It is one adjustment that will not give FPRRD and other members of his campaign planners enough reason to react aggressively. In fact, if Nograles’ campaign strategists know what should be done and how it is to be conducted, that scheme would be like hitting two birds with one stone and getting rewarded equally with his running mate, Councilor Dr. Bernie Al-ag.
Of course, we are not telling Karlo’s team what should be done and how to use it in the campaign. His bright boys should endeavor to find it out themselves and initiate its implementation. And he should not be too trusting of his leaders in the barangays. In fact, in our place, we have not seen any of his known leaders in our area visiting houses to pitch for his candidacy for mayor.
Instead, these leaders of his merely approach some households and ask the names of their members and inquire if they are willing to be included in a list where they have to disclose their precinct number, get their acceptable identification card number listed, with a promise that they will get cash assistance of so much. As to when the cash “gift” will be released, there is no definite date given by Karlo’s supposed leaders.
Personally, if Karlo has knowledge of what his leaders are doing, he could be playing a dangerous political game that could boomerang on him.
And while we are aware that the local administration (Hugpong cum PDP-Laban) also has its own closely similar scheme, its leaders are doing it more discreetly and with finesse that it can easily escape suspicion of a form of vote-buying or support enticement.
Again, with barely a little over a week left for the campaign, Karlo’s chances are getting dimmer each day. But as the saying goes, “anything can happen even in the most unexpected of situations and places.”
So it is even in politics… and an election for that matter.
