• GILBERT P. BAYORAN
While the United Negros Alliance (UNegA) has yet to make a formal endorsement of Fourth District Board Member Jose Benito Alonso as the coalition vice gubernatorial candidate in next year’s elections, Alonso already got the approval of Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson, who is seeking a third and final term for the top post in Negros Occidental.
Lacson said yesterday that he is “comfortable” to run with Alonso, who also served as the mayor of Pontevedra.
“I know him for a while already. He is also a very trusted man of Vice Gov. Jeffrey Ferrer,” he added.
UNegA officials said that they will make the announcement soon.
Cadiz City Mayor Salvador Escalante Jr., who is the UNegA secretary-general, said that they will convene next month to discuss plans for the May 2025 elections.
Ferrer earlier said that he will run for the Fourth District congressional post, which will be vacated by his wife, Rep. Juliet Marie Ferrer, who will also complete her three-year term.
Lacson reiterated the full support of the Love Negros-UNegA coalition to Ferrer, in response to reports that he will be challenged in the congressional race.
Meanwhile, the name of former Victorias City mayor Francis Frederick Palanca has been floated by the Partido Demokratiko Pilipino (PDP) to challenge Lacson in the gubernatorial race.
“I don’t know if there will be a new name. So far, the name of the former mayor is being floated. I would think that, it is still their plan to field the said mayor, as the candidate of PDP,” Lacson said.
On the meeting between former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and the five mayors from the Fifth District, Lacson said that is their prerogative, and it is purely district concerns. | GB
