Mayor’s brother to fill NPC council slate

ARCHITECT Prospero "Pros" Leonardia was chosen by his family to replace the late Andres Leonardia in seeking an elective post for council member in Bacolod City.

Prospero was openly endorsed by his younger brother, Bacolod City Mayor Evelio Leonardia, with the full support of the Nationalist People’s Coalition (NPC)- Grupo Progreso team led by mayoralty candidate Vice Mayor Jude Thaddeus Sayson, who is the NPC chairman in Bacolod.

Mayor Leonardia said the family wants to carry on the crusade that was started by his brother Andy.

"Since that January 5, that fateful day, it has been an extraordinary time for our family and in Grupo Progreso. It was an incident that shocked our family, our party and the city. Because of that, certain realities will have to be faced, especially so that Andy filed his certificate of candidacy under the NPC and he was a part of the team,” the mayor said.

“We were left with that situation where we had to look over the vacuum left by Andy. We are aware of the rules of Comelec (Commission on Elections) that, among others, require that in the event of a substitution, it has to be another Leonardia. Only a Leonardia can replace a Leonardia," he said.

For us, we felt obliged to come up with a replacement because we feel not just for a simple reason of filling the blank but for pursuing the goals and commitments that Andy had started, Mayor Evelio added.

Prospero has served the government for twenty years now. He started working with the government at the City Planning and Development Office since the incumbency of then Mayor Carlos Benares, Raymundo Dizon and Jose Montalvo.

When Mayor Evelio was elected in 1996, Prospero was also involved in the administration of his brother, became his private secretary and his trustee in government projects.

Meanwhile, Sayson said the NPC is in full support of the decision made by the Leonardia family.