The United Negros Alliance (UNegA) will only support one presidential candidate in the May 2022 elections, its party chairman, Sagay City Mayor Alfredo Marañon III, said today, Nov. 17.
Marañon said that UNegA members will have a meeting next month to discuss it.
Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson, who is a member of Love Negros, earlier said that to have a collective decision of supporting a common presidential candidate is “most ideal”, but this may not happen since some mayors already revealed their preferred candidates.
Marañon said he got information from 2nd District Rep. Leo Rafael Cueva that the National Unity Party (NUP) will not support any presidential candidate. Instead, the party will allow the members to support whoever they want, he added.
Marañon, Reps. Cueva and Juliet Ferrer, as well as Vice Gov. Jeffrey Ferrer, La Castellana Mayor Rhumyla Mangilimutan, Moises Padilla Mayor Ella Celestina Garcia-Yulo, Pontevedra Mayor Jose Maria Alonso, and San Enrique Mayor Jilson Tubillara are among the NUP members in Negros Occidental.
During the weekend, Partido Reporma presidential bet Panfilo “Ping” Lacson and his vice presidential candidate, Senate president Vicente Sotto, paid a courtesy call on Lacson at the Provincial Capitol in Bacolod City.
Sotto and Gov. Lacson are members of the Nationalist People’s Coalition.
The governor said they talked about how to increase the shares of local government units since their National Tax Allotment will be reduced in 2023 due to poor collections in 2020, and of Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio joining the Lakas-CMD.
But he clarified that no commitment was made in that meeting.
Ferrer said last week that they have not discussed with the mayors of Love Negros and Gov. Lacson the possibility of supporting the same presidential candidate.
The vice governor added that UNegA and Love Negros officials will come up with their choice before the start of the campaign period in February for the May 2022 elections. — GB, MML
