Win-win leader begging off from race

(COCKY AMERICAN:  Chris Algieri, a New Yorker of Italian and Argentinian descent, now says he doesn’t see any reason how he could lose to Manny Pacquiao in their battle for the WBO welterweight crown in Macau this November. The previously obscure Algieri, 30, unbeaten in 20 fights, is convinced that Pacquiao, who turns 36 in December, has slowed down and lost the original speed and firepower that propelled him to superstardom nearly a decade ago. Algieri was earlier quoted as saying he was 100 percent sure he would beat Pacquiao. The Filipino ring icon has thus far refused to be drawn into a shallow word war.)

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THERE was one incredible announcement, maybe never before made anywhere else around our cluttered, chaotic political landscape, that stunned the select audience at the Wack Wack Golf and Country Club in Mandaluyong City on Saturday.

It was not unlike an unbeaten champion fighter bidding farewell at the peak of a glorious career.

Mayor Benhur Abalos, a born leader and sportsman who has distinguished himself as the best-performing Mayor of Mandaluyong ever, declared he is stepping out of the political ring at the end of his term in 2016.

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The occasion was Mayor Benhur’s 52nd birthday, celebrated with joyous songs and pulsating numbers in a an unforgettable luncheon catered by Via Mare at Wack Wack.

The announcement was totally unexpected, maybe even by Mayor Benhur’s close associates.

For starters, Benhur, adored in the city as everybody’s chum—Best Friend ng Bayan, burst onto centerstage aglow in simple gray T-shirt and matching slacks.

Most amazed, of course, were those in the audience who had heard rumors about Benhur, not too visible of late, being seriously ill.

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Benhur did not only look fine. He was lean and lithe like a well-primed athlete, a sight that led one guest to whisper in amusement that the city chief was not only super and sexy, but was also “bikini-fit.”

Yes, Benhur bared, he had been through the worst of times, starting with the death of a beloved daughter, followed by the imprisonment of his father, former Comelec chair Benjamin Abalos Sr.

Yes, his doctor had advised him some months back to undergo a thorough cancer check.

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Yes, he announced in blissful thanksgiving, “I’m also hundred percent cancer-free!”

He spoke about inner transformation, an honest reconciliation with his Creator that stunned even his dear mother.

First elected as mayor in 1998, Benhur served for only two terms and agreed to run for Congress to give way to townmate Neptali “Boyet” Gonzales II, whose third term as congressman was about to expire.

He served in Congress from 2004 to 2007, before agreeing to another “swap” with Boyet Gonzales.

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Actually, there was a unanimous opinion around Mandaluyong that it would be a swoon for the popular mayor if he agreed to yet another switch of position with Gonzales and ran for Congress.

Sorry, Benhur announced with deep humility and dignity, he was not keen on running for another political office.

He’s completed his assigned mission—“Performance Speaks.”

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Anyway, of the total of eight national awards won by the city of his birth starting in 2011, Benhur singled out the Crown Award, given out to Mandaluyong for excellence in nutrition three consecutive times, equivalent to a grand slam.

“It’s most relevant and most prestigious, it meant we’ve maintained the least number of undernourished children through the years,” Abalos declared.

Would he agree to just rest on his laurels?

The well-applauded reply: “I will give my time and effort to support Vice President Jejomar Binay in the next presidential polls.”