• GILBERT P. BAYORAN
As the two major political groups in Negros Occidental move toward fielding a common candidate for governor anew in the 2028 elections, the names of Representatives Alfredo Marañon III of the Second District and Javier Miguel Benitez of the Third District as well as Cadiz City Mayor Salvador Escalante Jr. have been reported as those being considered.
Marañon, president of United Negros Alliance (UnegA), said the discussion during the June 8 meeting with Deputy Speaker Alfredo Abelardo Benitez and other provincial leaders centered on unifying behind a single gubernatorial candidate.
“We will field one candidate for governor,” Marañon said, admitting that he is among those being considered.
Asked if he is open to run for governor, Marañon replied, “Let’s see. We will pray for it.”
Marañon said the discussions have so far focused on the gubernatorial race while talks on a possible vice gubernatorial candidate will follow once an agreement is reached for the province’s top elective post.
“The first thing being settled is the governorship,” the lawmaker said, adding that there is already an agreement in principle to have a common candidate.
“Whoever it will be, that is what we will discuss next,” Marañon said.
In a statement, Benitez, reacting on his name being on the list, said: “I’m humbled by it, and I don’t take it lightly”.
Benitez, however, said “my head is in the work I already have.”
“The people of the Third District and Negros Occidental put me in Congress to do a job, and that job isn’t done,” the neophyte lawmaker said.
“When the time comes, I trust our people and I trust our leaders to choose the right person,” he added.
Benitez said: “What I care about and I’ll keep saying it whether or not I’m the one in the running is simple. This province deserves governance that is clean, efficient and leaves no one behind.”
He further stressed that “leadership isn’t about how many years you’ve spend in public life, it is about what you actually do with them.”
In a phone interview, Marañon said another meeting among coalition leaders may be held in the coming months, with a final decision possibly reached early next year.
The filing of certificates of candidacy for the 2028 national and local elections is scheduled in October next year.
Marañon said the majority of political leaders involved in the discussions are pushing to keep Negros Occidental politically stable.
“All agreed that there will be one candidate,” he added.
Marañon recalled that the earlier arrangement, wherein UnegA would field the gubernatorial candidate while Love Negros would nominate the vice gubernatorial candidate, was discussed during the meeting.
“There was such an agreement before. Supposedly, that would be the arrangement,” he said. | GB
