• GILBERT P. BAYORAN
To run, or not to run.
Those are the two options being explored by Rep. Greg Gasataya, as his nine-year term as congressman of Bacolod City ends June 30 next year.
“I will have to decide in due time,” said Gasataya, who delivered his State of the District Address before thousands of his supporters, including several Bacolod City councilors, department heads, and barangay captains at the University of St. La Salle in Bacolod City yesterday.
But before he ended his SODA, dubbed as “Serbisyong may Puso”, which lasted for one hour and 40 minutes, Gasataya said “continue to watch me work”.
There are speculations that there might be a switch for positions between incumbent Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez, who may, instead, run as congressman of the lone district of Bacolod, while Gasataya bids for the mayoralty seat.
In his State Of the City Address July 3, Benitez said he has yet to make a decision as to his plans for next year’s elections. He pointed out that there are two to three months left before the filing of the certificate of candidacy in the first week of October this year.
Meanwhile, Gasataya clarified that while there is no prior settlement or agreement forged between him and Mayor Benitez, they are open to each other.
In his SODA, Gasataya reported his achievements in the past eight years as member of the House of Representatives, which focuses on education, health, including the establishment of Bacolod City General Hospital, increasing the bed capacity of Corazon Locsin Montelibano Memorial Regional Hospital from 400 to 1,000 beds, among others.
He also sponsored a law providing free tuition to state colleges and universities all over the country, and providing scholarships to 20,000 students in Bacolod City since 2016.
He also announced that starting Aug. 30 this year, the Bacolod Negros Occidental Economic Highway, from Brgy. Sum-ag in Bacolod City to its boundary in Talisay City, will be passable to all vehicles.
This is in support to the proposed legislation, authored by Gasataya, for the establishment of the Bacolod Economic Zone Authority (BEZA), which is now in the Senate for deliberations. | GB
