No opponent for Aguilar?

No formidable opposition is seen to challenge Las Piñas Mayor Vergel "Nene" Aguilar in the coming elections. The Commission on Elections (Comelec)-Las Piñas office said yesterday that no one has yet to file a certificate of candidacy for the city mayoralty and vice mayoralty elections.

Aguilar had soundly thrashed his challenger, Ben Gonzales, in the last mayoral race with a margin of more than 100,000 votes. Vice Mayor Luis Bustamante’s chances of reelection is also seen to be a cinch.

Las Piñas, under Aguilar, had been dubbed the "most awarded local government unit" in the Philippines after winning consecutive "cleanest and greenest city" and LGU awards as well as other citations for its development projects.

The race for the city’s lone congressional, however, promises to be more interesting with the seat to be vacated by former Speaker Manuel Villar to be contested by Villar’s wife Cynthia, and businessmen Tony Tamayo, a former city vice mayor, and Paulo Patacsil.

Tamayo’s family operates the University of Perpetual Help and is a television personality as host of the news magazine Tropang Pinoy; Patacsil was described to be a wealthy information technology business whiz; while Villar had been involved in numerous charity projects as chairperson of the Congressional Spouses Foundation. – Rainier Allan Ronda