Domestic

As the deadline for the filing of candidacies looms nearer, politicians will have to make some hard decisions about seeking elective posts.

Some of those who ran for national posts in previous elections are reported to be competing for local posts in the next voting. They must be aware that contesting local elections can be very different from seeking national elective posts. Local elections involve plugging into social networks of long-standing, communities of kinship and a lot of door-to-door fighting.

Several nationally prominent politicians are said to be considering contesting local posts. Leni Robredo is reported to be seriously considering running for mayor of Naga City. Going for the governorship of Camarines Sur might be a tough option since this would involved dealing with the powerful Villafuerte political machine.

Isko Moreno, who sought the presidency the last time, is said to be gunning for mayor of Manila. He resigned that post when he pursued his long-shot presidential ambition and was succeeded by his vice mayor Honey Lacuna. Should he return to the city, he will have to fight Lacuna who inherited her late father’s political network. She has also been performing quite credibly as mayor.

We all recall the legendary Ernesto Maceda. He always had little difficulty winning national elections. When he sought the mayorship of Manila, he met his Waterloo. Lito Atienza, who handily beat him, went on to serve three terms as mayor of the city.

Three senators have reached their term limits in the upper chamber: Grace Poe, Koko Pimentel and Cynthia Villar. Of the three, only Villar seems inclined to seek a local post in the interim. The tough-talking senator is said to be interested in the mayorship of her hometown Las Piñas.

This is not going to be an easy move, however.

True, Las Piñas is her family’s bailiwick. Her brother, Vergel ‘Nene’ Aguilar, served as mayor there for 18 years. During this time, the place boomed from a salt-farming town to the prosperous suburb it is today.

The incumbent mayor is Imelda Aquilar, eldest daughter of Nene. Her vice mayor, April Aguilar-Neri, is widely expected to succeed her as local chief executive. The word is that neither was ready to open a path for 74-year-old Cynthia.

Before he passed on, Nene Aguilar’s relationship with his sister was not exactly warm. In 2013, Cynthia clashed with her brother over reclamation projects along the Manila Bay coastline.

Nene endorsed a P14-billion reclamation project that will redefine the Las Piñas coastline, along with that of neighboring Parañaque. Cynthia opposed the reclamation. She went on to ask her colleagues in the Senate to review the powers of the Philippine Reclamation Authority, which she accused of approving “environmentally unsound and potentially hazardous” projects.

Then Mayor Nene, for his part, argued that the project had gone through extensive consultations. It was likewise supported by engineering studies undertaken by reputable organizations.

That dispute apparently resulted in hard feelings that were passed on to the next generation. Mayor Nene’s daughters are unwilling to yield the local executive post to their aunt.

Cynthia could, of course, aspire for the city’s congressional seat. But that is not going to be easy either.

The congressional seat is eyed by Mark Anthony Santos, who was consistently the top-ranked councilor of the city. Santos once served as chief of staff of Mayor Nene and served as Las Piñas representative to the Metro Manila Council from 2007 to 2010. He was the youngest city councilor in his first election in 1998 and served seven terms.

The point in going through all these is to underscore that Santos has set down deep roots in the locality’s politics. His networks are well-entrenched. It will not be easy to wean away his voters.

Cynthia’s relationship with Santos cannot be described as warm either. In 2022, Santos authored a city council resolution on the collection of delinquent real property taxpayers. Armed with this resolution, the city government sought to collect P213.55 million from companies owned by Manny and Cynthia Villar.

So far, the Villars have settled only P15.825 million in real property taxes for their assets in the city. A representative of Villar-owned Britanny Corporation is trying to negotiate with Mayor Imelda Aguilar for a waiver of penalties for the property tax it owes the city. The basic tax payable amounts to over P90 million.

Another Villar surrogate, representing the Sipag at Tiyaga Foundation, Inc., is likewise appealing to the city government for a waiver of P22.5 million in penalties for unpaid real property taxes. The property in question is the Villar-owned Mella Hotel which has been in operation since 2019.

Negotiations are still active, although Santos publicly advised the billionaire couple to pay all of their tax liabilities. The city council, however, does not seem inclined to offer leniency. Santos volunteers the information that the city council has yet to discuss the request for waiver of penalties.

The Villar couple is listed by Forbes as the country’s richest person. They are estimated to have a net worth of $8.6 billion or P467 billion. Settling their tax liabilities with Las Piñas will hardly dent their fortune.

Nor will the Villar name disappear from the annals of Philippine politics. The Villar-controlled Nacionalista Party has joined the BBM-led coalition leading to the next senatorial elections. As part of the deal, the pro-administration coalition is expected to include Las Piñas Rep. Camille Villar – Manny and Cynthia’s daughter.