There's no mistaking that he is being looked up to as the father figure of the opposition. But after seeing it in a different light, he finally admitted that if the challenge is there, why not. The challenge of heading the opposition, that is.
That's Chito Castillo's curt reply when asked just what kind of politics he is espousing right now.
The challenge of injecting new faces into Bohol's electoral system is what Castillo is dreaming of after the province was stampeded with patronage politics all these years.
But much as he wanted to shy away from any tag given his role in the opposition, his loyalists just cannot help but christen him as their own godfather that will lead the group to its desired objective as the party of choice for the Boholanos.
With political democracy as his battle cry, he is longing for the day that people will be given a real choice of their leaders.
Sounding nostalgic, he recalled the days of his father when the two-party system was in vogue.
A junior of the late congressman Natalio Castillo,Sr., Chito was privy to the heydays of the Nacionalista and Liberal parties of old.
Now, everything is being dictated by those in the corridors of power as to who will run the reigns of government, Castillo sighed.
Is his visibility these days a good measure of things to come?
Before he was misinterpreted, Castillo was quick to douse cold water to insinuations that he is running for public office.
He said if he is visible these days, it is because he found the Bohol opposition worth saving as a potent political party.
The potential of the opposition as a force to reckon with was shown yesterday when he hosted hundreds of leaders all over Bohol. Although there was a sprinkling of leaders from the second and third districts, it was in the first district were most of the leaders came from.
Just to make sure that Bohol leaders were given the importance they deserve, Castillo invited his friend from way, way back, Sen.Jinggoy Estrada to be on hand to grace the gathering of political supporters. During the Panglao fiesta last week, Estrada was also its guest of honor.