Whether it is him or in a proxy war, General Santos City has remained elusive for Sarangani Rep. Manny Pacquiao.
On May 13, Rogelio ?Ruel? Pacquiao lost in his bid to become seatmates with elder brother in the House of Representatives, losing to re-electionist Pedro ?Jun? Acharon Jr by an overall margin of 8,490 votes (Results quoted herein are from Rappler?s Mirror Service and are unofficial ? author).
General Santos City is part of the 1st Congressional District of South Cotabato which also includes the towns of Tupi, Tampakan and Polomolok.
It is the same position that Manny Pacquiao coveted in 2007 but lost heavily to then re-electionist Darlene Antonino-Custodio.
Pacquiao would change residence soon after his humbling loss. In 2010, he ran and won in nearby Sarangani where he was overwhelmingly embraced by its residents. He ran unopposed as a re-electionist congressman on May 13. His wife Jinkee also won by a landslide as vice governor in the province.
It would have been a triple crown for the Hall of Fame-bound boxing champion had Ruel also won in General Santos.
It is too early to dissect Ruel?s loss as all data are not yet in. But, just the same, it undoubtedly was a painful and another costly loss for the Pacquiaos.
Ruel?s bid was viewed by many as his brother?s proxy war.
Former world boxing champion Gerry Pe?alosa last year revealed that it was always an obsession of Pacquiao to, one day, become the mayor of General Santos.
Pacquiao, the country?s boxing icon, changed political course however when fame and fortune egged him to become even larger than real life and in politics. He rose into the national consciousness and his celebrity status became his ticket to political prominence.
Call it tough luck for Manny but General Santos seems to play a political spoil sports for him.
Not even the endorsement of the influential Iglesia ni Kristo could propel Ruel to victory.
For how can one explain the victory of mayor-elect Ronnel Rivera who won over Manny?s nemesis Darlene by a margin of 14,006 (again unofficial)?
WIN SOME LOSE SOME. General Santos has again rebuffed Rep. Manny Pacquiao (left) whose brother Rogelio (middle) lost in a bid to become congressman. At right is General Santos Mayor-elect Ronnel Rivera (right).FOTO BY EDWIN ESPEJO
Seven councilors belonging to People?s Champ Movement (PCM), the local party founded by Manny, endorsed by Iglesia ni Kristo also won, including re-elected Vice Mayor Shirlyn Ba?as. PCM now controls majority of the 12 elective seats city council. But rival political party Achievement with Integrity Movement (AIM) has the 2 ex-officio posts, for the association of barangay chair and the Sangguniang Kabataan in addition to its 5 re-elected councilors.
Ruel lost by a difference of more than 3,000 votes in General Santos. That means a vote swing of at least 17,000 against the younger Pacquiao from the votes that Rivera got in winning as city mayor.
Was it a vote of rejection of the Pacquiaos in General Santos? Or was it a failure of organization for Ruel on the part of PCM?
While Pacquiao provided the ready local party for Rivera when the latter set his sight for the city?s top executive post, it was the mayor-elect?s 3 years of ground working and machinery building that eventually counted on election day. Insiders said the Riveras, with no less than patriarch Rudy Rivera at the helm, eventually ran a parallel campaign for the mayor-elect.
Rep. Pacquiao, running unopposed in Sarangani, worked hard for his younger brother in General Santos City but he may have overstretched his resources this time. He was even reported to have personally confronted the Barangay chair of San Jose when a convoy of supporters was flagged down Saturday evening, May 11, for reportedly doling out rice and, as claimed, envelopes reportedly containing cash. His efforts fell short, however. Or was it despite his efforts? Is the Pacquiao magic not working in General Santos City?
On the flipside, one can also view Acharon?s victory over Ruel Pacquiao as an afterthought for the Antoninos. Where did Darlene fail were Acharon was victorious?
Again, some very hard thoughts to think about for political analysts and students of local politics. Hopefully, the answers will soon come for Pacquiao and the rest of General Santos.
