• GILBERT P. BAYORAN
With his term set to expire three years from now, reelected Negros Occidental Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson said the continued unity between Love Negros and United Negros Alliance (UNegA) will be the legacy that he will leave behind.
“I don’t want that this local alliance will just be for me. It’s an alliance we should keep for future administrations,” Lacson said.
Cadiz City Salvador Escalante Jr., UNegA secretary general, said such legacy was also handed down to Lacson by his predecessor, the late Governor Alfredo Marañon Jr.
He said that right now, Negros Occidental is enjoying a governorship without infighting because of the coalition or merger of two big political parties in Negros Occidental.
“For the past six years there’s been really absolute cooperation between both groups,” Lacson said, acknowledging that he received full cooperation from the local chief executive regardless which group they belong to.
Meanwhile, Negros Occidental 3rd district congressman-elect Javier Miguel Benitez said that he is focusing on the work ahead.
The outgoing mayor of Victorias City is the son of Bacolod City Lone District congressman-elect Alfredo Abelardo Benitez, who is also among the key leaders of Love Negros as it was formed during his term as congressman of the 3rd district.
“Right after 2025, others are already thinking about 2028. As for us? We’re focused on the work ahead the younger Benitez said.
The alliance between the two political groups started in 2019 when Lacson of Love Negros ran for governor in tandem with 4th district congressman-elect Jeffrey Ferrer, the UNegA president, as his vice governor.
In the 2016 elections, Lacson defeated Ferrer in the vice gubernatorial race.
With the statement of Lacson that he wants the alliance to continue in the future, Escalante said there are initial talks being floated among UNegA members on “who’s next and what will happen to 2028.”
He recalled that there was an agreement between the two political groups that Love Negros will take care of Negros Occidental for nine years, and UNegA will field its own after. | GB
