• GILBERT P. BAYORAN
Victorias City Mayor Javier Miguel “Javi” Benitez yesterday laughed off and denied reports that he is running against incumbent Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson in the 2025 elections, as he was observed to have started visiting mayors and attending events in different local government units of Negros Occidental.
His father, Bacolod City Mayor Alfredo Abelardo “Albee” Benitez said, “There’s no such thing.”
Stressing that they are focused on planning and implementing programs and projects for Victorias City, the younger Mayor Benitez said “If people feel that what we’re doing here can be replicated, then it’s a testament to our performance so far. That’s all there is to it, and we have still so much to do here.”
With regard to visiting mayors in different LGUs, Mayor Albee said that Mayor Javi, as president of the Negros ACE (Association of Chief Executives), is just doing his job and assisting mayors, which is his mandate.
In response to talks circulating that a group of people will field a governor against Lacson in the 2025 elections, the elder Benitez said he is not aware of it.
During the 2019 elections, Love Negros, of which Lacson and Mayor Albee are members, and United Negros Alliance (UNegA), the party of the late Gov. Alfredo Maranon Jr., fielded a common slate in the provincial level, a practice which the politicians repeated in the last elections.
While he is not casting a vote for governor, the elder Benitez said “I don’t see any force that will come in, considering that Negros is united again.”
At the same time, he also reiterated his support to Gov. Lacson and the unity and political coalition in Negros Occidental.
On Sunday, Cadiz City Mayor Salvador Escalante Jr, the secretary general of UNegA, said that their alliance with Love Negros remains strong.
“As far as I know, the coalition is still holding and getting stronger,” Escalante said, as he pointed out that they have been helped by Gov. Lacson, even though he is not a member of their group.
The coalition is strong and I am sure it will carry up to the next election, Escalante said.
Mayor Albee, on the other hand, said that he sees no cracks or divisions in the coalition of two political groups.
When asked about that somebody will be fielded against Lacson in 2025, Negros Occidental 5th District Rep. Emilio Yulo III said “I think, in the meantime, we should be responsible enough to serve our people, and let politics come in, within a few months before the elections.”*
