- GILBERT BAYORAN
Negros Occidental Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson on Tuesday, May 16, doused speculations of an alleged rift among Love Negros members.
Asked if there is a rift between him and Bacolod Mayor Alfredo Benitez, Lacson replied “there is none”.
“I think, maybe, there are some people who want to create a controversy,” the governor said.
Top officials of the United Negros Alliance (UNegA) earlier pledged support to any plan of Lacson in 2025.
Benitez held a get-together party Monday night at his residence in Bacolod City, and Lacson, who attended the gathering, said it was participated in by 14 Love Negros mayors while two others did not make it as they were out of the province.
He added that politics was not discussed during the event.
Lacson had been invited by UnegA in several of its activities, which he also attended.
The UNegA-Love Negros coalition started in 2019, through the efforts of then Gov. Alfredo Marañon Jr. and Benitez, when they fielded Lacson as governor and Jeffrey Ferrer as vice governor in a tandem that was carried on during the 2022 elections.
Lacson, who is affiliated with Love Negros, agreed with UNegA top officials that the coalition of the two local political groups is getting stronger./GB
