GOVERNOR Alfredo Marañon Jr. has been designated as head of the ruling Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban) in Negros Occidental.
This was confirmed on Thursday, December 28, by Yves Akol, secretary-general of PDP-Laban in Negros Island, saying that they are waiting for the official copy of the governor’s appointment.
Akol said this means that Marañon will choose the candidates of the party in the 2019 elections from the provincial positions down to those in every district.
“We will just be the recommending authority,” he added.
In the Lone District of Bacolod, Mayor Evelio Leonardia leads the PDP-Laban.
“They have the mandate of the people that’s why they lead the party here. We respect the mandate of the people,” Akol said.
He added that PDP-Laban has an alliance with the Nationalist People’s Coalition, where most of the local officials belong.
However, the alliance cannot hold the local officials in terms of selecting and deciding for the local candidates, Akol said.
Majority of the local officials in Negros Occidental are already members of the PDP-Laban, but locally they belong to opposing parties – Marañon’s United Negros Alliance and Third District Representative Alfredo Benitez’s Love Negros.
Benitez is also a member of PDP-Laban.