United Negros Alliance (UNegA) secretary general Salvador Escalante Jr. said Monday that they received “feelers” from the groups of Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio, Senator Panfilo “Ping” Lacson and even boxing icon Manny Pacquiao, asking for their support in next year’s elections.
Lacson already declared his intention to run for President, with Senator Tito Sotto of Nationalist People’s Coalition as his running mate, while Duterte-Carpio and Pacquiao are being touted as “presidentiables”.
Escalante said that there are talks that Pacquiao will visit Negros Occidental, although there is no definite schedule yet.
Majority of Negros Occidental officials, led by the late Gov. Alfredo Marañon Jr., joined the PDP-Laban of President Rodrigo Duterte after the 2016 elections.
The PDP-Laban now heads for a split after Pacquaio was ousted as president by the group of Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi, who was backed up by President Duterte.
Escalante admitted that they have not been formally informed on what is happening in the national level of the PDP-Laban.
“We have no idea who is the president, and who prevails,” he said.
Once the candidates for the national positions are finalized, Escalante said he expects a clearer picture on who will be the party’s standard bearer.
He said that UNeGa solons will have a meeting either first or second week of August, as being requested by their chairman Sagay City Mayor Alfredo Marañon III and president Vice Gov. Jeffrey Ferrer. – GB
