For some, the move of former Cabinet Secretary Melvin Matibag and incumbent San Pedro City, Laguna Mayor Art Mercado to keep the status quo on the last day of filing of certificates of candidacy was a prudent move to defuse a possible “explosive” political situation in the city. But who will win – and who will lose – in this political standstill?
Supporters of two rival mayoralty candidates in San Pedro City – former Cabinet Secretary Melvin Matibag and incumbent Mayor Art Mercado – have long prepared for an “explosive” political clash as the campaign period for the 2025 midterm elections draws near.
“Yung iba pong mga supporters, handang-handa na nga pong makipaglaban para sa kanilang kandidato sa 2025,” one source told OpinYon Laguna.
But that expected explosion of passions turned out to be a dud.
This, as Matibag and Mercado reportedly made a last-minute agreement on the last day of the official period for filing certificates of candidacy (COCs) last October 8.
That agreement had also served to stop what some political observers have feared a potential real battle for control of Laguna’s “Dormitory City,” long known for its generally peaceful but hotly-contested elections.
While some hailed the move as a genuine effort to stem a rising wave of passion among the supporters of the two camps, a political analyst who requested anonymity said not everyone would be happy with this turn of events.
“There’s bound to be winners and losers in whatever agreement these two camps made during that meeting,” the analyst told OpinYon Laguna.
“On one hand, it’s a good thing that they have set aside their personal ambitions and political passions preferring to work together for San Pedro City. But the fact that there’s only one candidate now for certain positions in the city does not bode well for our democracy – and of course, those who heavily made bets on both candidates will lose heavily because of this agreement.”
What happened?
Since Mayor Art Mercado and his lineup of candidates for councilors and provincial board members (but, noticeably, not his wife Mika, who was being pushed to run for the city’s congressional seat) filed their COCs on October 7, voters in the city have held their breath on when will Cong. Ann Matibag and his team file their own COCs.
This, notwithstanding the fact that the 1st District Representative Ann Matibag, had filed her own COC at the Commission on Elections (Comelec) office in Santa Cruz, Laguna last October 2.
However, in the last hours of filing of COCs on October 8, rumors began swirling around the city of an alleged meeting between two political leaders at a hotel in San Pedro City, during which the two groups worked to reconcile their differences.
This was later confirmed by supporters of both camps, who posted photos of the event on their social media pages, and later on by Melvin Matibag himself the next day.
“Larawan ng pagkakaisa. Basta para sa San Pedro, handa akong magsakripisyo,” Matibag posted in his social media page on October 9, including a picture of himself with Mercado and other local leaders during the meeting.
As of press time (October 11), Mercado’s camp has yet to issue their own statement regarding the meeting.
Details
It is also not clear what exactly did the two camps agree on during the meeting.
But it should be noted that not only did Matibag decide not to run for Mayor of San Pedro City, but Art Mercado’s wife, Mika, also decided not to run for the city’s congressional seat.
Although the local Comelec office in San Pedro City has yet to publish its official list of those who filed their COCs (as of press time), sources also told OpinYon Laguna that the Matibags’ slate of councilors and provincial board members decided to proceed anyway with their filing of COCs last October 8, despite Melvin’s decision not to run.
Representative Matibag accompanied their official slate during their filing of COCs as a gesture of the couple’s continued support for the team.
Who wins, who loses
In the months leading to the filing of COCs, there has been noted an increasing spate of black propaganda being hurled by spurious social media pages against the two camps.
There has also been an increasingly “worrying” rise in the use of online trolls and fake social accounts, meant to bolster an image of popular support.
“Kung natuloy ang paglalaban nina Matibag at Mercado, hindi malayong matulad ang San Pedro sa ibang mga lugar sa ating bansa kung saan humahantong sa karahasan ang mga halalan,” a political analyst told OpinYon Laguna. “So, in a sense, hindi lang ang dalawang kampo ang nanalo rito kundi ang mga San Pedrense na rin.”
The real losers, on the other hand, are the political allies of both camps who have invested turned hope heavily on what they had expected would be an intense political battle – not to mention, of course, the social media teams who would have been bound to make a fortune in spreading black propaganda and fake news against both camps in the run-up to the campaign period.
“Sa totoo lang, ito na siguro ang magiging pinaka-boring na eleksyon na makikita natin sa San Pedro,” the political analyst opined.
“That’s good – and also bad. Good, because hindi na masyadong magiging isyu ang mga election violation gaya ng vote-buying at panggigipit sa mga opisyal at botante. But on the other hand, it’s bad for our democracy, because you have removed the main essence of why we hold elections: for our people to choose, among us, who they believe is the one most capable of leading our city.”
Political machinery will lose the energy and the fund to run a campaign as well, observers also noted.
For instance, the Matibag camp won’t need to exert much effort in convincing voters as only Representative Ann Matibag will be running.
And even though Mayor Art Mercado has a rival in the mayoralty race (a character named Nick Gilbuena, whom some observers derided as a “perennial” candidate), analysts see a “no-contest” win for the incumbent mayor in the absence of a strong contender.
“Pero pwede rin naman silang bumawi sa labanan sa pagka-vice mayor, konsehal at board member,” that political analyst also observed, especially as there are now three contenders for vice-mayor of San Pedro City in the 2025 polls.
“Not to mention na sumabak rin sa laban ang councilors’ lineup ni Atty. Melvin Matibag kahit na hindi siya tumakbo. So yes, hindi sila maglalabas ng masyadong pera, pero asahan natin na kung anuman ang ibubuhos nilang funds ay mapupunta sa mga konsehal at board member.”
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