• GILBERT P. BAYORAN
Negros Occidental Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson said on Wednesday (Aug. 28) that he has no “inside information” that Bacolod City Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez is being considered as the next secretary of the Department of the Interior and Local Government.
Incumbent Secretary Benjamin Abalos Jr. is expected to join the senatorial race in the May 2025 midterm elections.
“Maybe that’s possible. I don’t have any inside information about that,” he said.
Lacson noted that if Abalos decides to run for the position of senator, he has to resign from his present executive position.
The filing of certificate of candidacy will be from Oct. 1 to 8.
Leaders of the ruling Partido Federal ng Pilipinas (PFP) and allied political parties, including the Lakas-CMD, Nationalist People’s Coalition, Nacionalista Party, and National Unity Party, recently met in Malacañang to strategize for the upcoming midterm elections.
The name of Abalos, a member of PFP, is among those being considered to be part of the administration’s Senate slate.
The Union of Local Authorities of the Philippines earlier endorsed Abalos to run for senator. | GB
