SECOND District Board Member Salvador Escalante Jr., secretary-general of United Negros Alliance (Unega), sees a unified political front in the 2019 elections.
It’s like going back to the “Unified United Negros Alliance” like the 2010 elections, he said.
Escalante made the projection as Love Negros is expected to officially announce on Sunday that Vice Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson will be their gubernatorial candidate in the 2019 elections and that Third District Representative Alfredo “Albee” Benitez is giving way to him.
The official merger of the two major political groups in the province is expected to follow.
Lacson said on Tuesday, September 18, that he already talked and settled with some mayors regarding their concerns so by Sunday, everything will run smoothly for Love Negros to make a consensus.
Some mayors reportedly pushed for Benitez to run for governor.
"He has given his word before and when you ask me, I think Cong. Albee won't take back his word. What is important is he has committed to continue to help us in the province in his private capacity and I'm looking forward to a partnership with Albee,” Lacson said.
On the other hand, Escalante said they are now trying to thresh out the concerns of some mayors especially in areas where a battle between the two contending groups is inevitable in the 2019 elections.
"Since there is already an announcement, we the mayors are doing our share. If there is unity at the upper level, why not do it in our level? We will try to absorb, like in the case of Pontevedra, where an opposition member of the Municipal Council was absorbed by Mayor Jose Benito Alonso, to join their group so there is no more opposition now in their locality," Escalante pointed out.
He revealed that there are about five to six localities where a member of Love Negros and Unega are expected to compete against each other in the 2019 elections.
"But miracles do happen," Escalante said.
The areas which are expected to be hotly contested in the 2019 elections are identified in the First and the Third districts.