Guv seeks re-election
-A A +ATuesday, July 10, 2012
NEGROS Occidental Alfredo Marañon Jr. officially declared Monday that he is seeking re-election in the 2013 polls.
"Because the mayors want me to run, I've decided to run in 201," he said in front of 17 mayors who received their checks for various projects in their respective towns and cities.
He said 18 mayors out of the 31 local chief executives in the province have confirmed support for his re-election bid. These mayors are the 17 who were in his office Monday and La Castellana Mayor Alberto Nicor.
"More mayors are coming out to support me," Marañon said.
After the governor's announcement, he conducted a photo op with the mayors who jointly raised Marañon’s hands to signify their support for his re-election bid.
Present in Monday's show of force for Marañon were Mayors Evello Valencia (Toboso) and Marxlen dela Cruz (Don Salvador Benedicto) from the 1st district; Leo Rafael Cueva (Sagay City), Patrick Escalante (Cadiz City), Lourdes Escalante (Manapla) from the 2nd district, the governor’s own district; David Albert Lacson (EB Magalona) who is also the president of the Association of Chief Executives (ACE)- Negros, Jose Montelibano (Silay City), Eric Saratan (Talisay City) and Andrew Montelibano (Murcia) from the 3rd district; Ramon Torres (Bago City), Mario Magno (San Enrique), Juliet Marie Ferrer (La Carlota) and Jomar Alonzo (Pontevedra) from the 4th district; Hermilo Aguilar (Hinigaran), Emmanuel Aranda (Binalabagan), Francis Malabor (Isabela) and Francisco Nazareno (Moises Padilla) from the 5th district.
The mayors’ gathering at the governor's office followed after 12 of them met Thursday last week at the house of former Manapla mayor Manolet Escalante at Ayala Subdivision in Talisay City.
Marañon said he did not expect the presence of the mayors at his office Monday and that their presence and support made the governor decide to declare right there and then that he is running for governor again in 2013.
Because majority of the mayors support him, Marañon said he will inform former Ambassador Eduardo "Danding" Cojuangco of his decision.
Cojuangco is the national chairman of the Nationalist People’s Coalition while Marañon is the provincial chairman. Cojuango is the founder of the United Negros Alliance (UNA), the most dominant coalition of political parties in the province.
Cojuangco is the acknowledged political kingmaker in Negros.
Marañon said he will try to arrange a meeting with Cojuangco at the latter’s most convenient time, considering that the former ambassador is not in the best of health.
Majority of the mayors from the first district and all the mayors from the sixth district were absent in Monday affair where Marañon turned over P2.2 million to the mayors for various projects in their respective localities.
He said that more checks for various projects of the towns and cities will be released in the coming weeks, depending on the availability of funds.
Marañon said that his administration focuses more on projects that go to the grassroots, reason why majority of the people want him to seek reelection.
Meanwhile, Marañon and ACE-Negros president Lacson said that they are hoping that the equity of the incumbent will be followed by UNA.
Lacson said that they support the comeback of the tandem of Marañon and Vice Governor Genaro Alvarez in the 2013 elections.
He also said that they are hoping for UNA to have a meeting and convention the soonest possible time.
They also expect that the equity of the incumbent will be observed by the party in the six congressional districts in the province.
Published in the Sun.Star Bacolod newspaper on July 10, 2012.
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