IS Mayor Benjamin Lim really running against Speaker Jose de Venecia Jr. in the coming polls?

By month’s end, the people of Dagupan will finally know which position Lim will really vie for in the coming election.

The mayor said over a public radio station broadcast that he’ll announce his final decision by   the end of January even as in an earlier interview, he said that within a scale of one to 10, he is now at seven in favor of fighting De Venecia for the congressional seat in the fourth district of Pangasinan.

Meanwhile, De Venecia seems unperturbed, saying last Saturday that he welcomes any contender because that is the exercise of everyone’s right, the Philippines being a democratic country.

In his talk to the radio station, Lim again fired some ballistics on De Venecia when he said the construction of an overpass in barangay Tapuac was not coordinated with him, even just for courtesy.

However, he admitted that he knows that the project was sought by Barangay Captain Joaquin Reyes from the Speaker himself.

Lim told the radio station there are many people egging him to run as congressman for him to get back his old post but there are also many others who were saying he must seek reelection in order to ensure the momentum of his projects in the city.

The mayor said his decision will be based on the result of the survey he had commissioned asking the people of the fourth district of Pangasinan as to their preference for his position.

He also told the radio station that while he may either run for a higher position or seek reelection, he has not altogether thrown away the option returning to private life as a businessman.

HEIR TO THE THRONE?

But many are speculating that Lim, despite keeping his decision close to his chest, is running for congress after all as he is suspected to be now honing his son Brian, whom he appointed as   chief of staff in his office, to possibly take his place.

Brian is a business management graduate from Boston University in the United States and took up law at the Ateneo de Manila University. He is taking the Philippine Bar Exam in September.

The father and son were recently seen together at a gathering in Pugaro where Mayor Lim turned over three public comfort rooms built by the city government to the barangay.

In that gathering, Lim reportedly told the barangay official in public not to forget Brian in the coming polls, although he did not mention for what position.

When Lim recently accompanied barangay leaders to Manila for a visit to Senate President Manuel Villar and Congressman Alan Peter Cayetano, he brought along Brian.

Brian was also spotted as one of the spectators at the gallery at the Sangguniang Panlungsod session last January 15, where he was even acknowledged by Vice Mayor and Presiding Officer Alvin Fernandez, his likely opponent in the May 14 polls.

The younger Lim is now visiting various offices of the city government as part of his orientation and preparation for a possible crack at the mayorship of Dagupan. — LM

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