Guv: August 30 meeting merely gathering of UNA execs

NEGROS Occidental Governor Alfredo Maranon Jr., chairman of the United Negros Alliance (UNA), clarified Wednesday that the scheduled August 30 meeting among the party's top officials in the province is not a meeting, but will just be a gathering of the top officials.

Maranon said he will attend that meeting, as he was informed by Kabankalan City Mayor Isidro Zayco about it.
The meeting will reportedly be held in Manila among the governor, vice-governor and the six congressmen of the province with former ambassador Eduardo "Danding" Cojuangco, Jr., the founder and chairman emeritus of UNA as well as the national chairman of the Nationalist People's Coalition (NPC).

Maranon's statement was contrary to the statement made by Vice Governor Genaro Alvarez that the meeting on August 30 will be that of UNA.

The governor admitted that he cannot preempt what will transpire in the meeting but said they may talk about who they are going to field as candidates in the province for the 2013 elections.

UNA will hold a meeting in September in the province before the filing of Certificate of Candidacy in October, disclosed Maranon. The meeting will be called by the UNA Executive Committee and will be attended by all UNA members from the councilors, mayors and the congressmen, he added.
When asked for confirmation, Zayco said he informed Maranon about the Manila meeting and that he was also informed by Vice Governor Genaro Alvarez about the said meeting.

Zayco, Maranon and Alvarez said they do not know yet who will preside in the meeting. But based on their previous statements and in the usual practice in previous elections, Cojuangco presides over the meeting.

Zayco said in that meeting, the top officials of the province with UNA and the NPC officers may decide who will be their standard bearer in the province for the 2013 elections.

Reports circulated that, to avoid the conflict between Maranon and Alvarez, the party may field Zayco as its standard bearer. When asked for comment, Zayco, who has also served as the governor before Maranon was elected to office, said that he has already made the decision that he will seek reelection as mayor of Kabankalan City in 2013.

He further disclosed that he had officially received his designation as the new provincial chair of NPC last August 13.