BY GILBERT P. BAYORAN
Brighter days lie ahead for Negros Occidental under the presidency of Ferdinand Marcos Jr, yesterday declared Vice Gov. Jeffrey Ferrer, who led the political campaign of the son of the late President Ferdinand Marcos in the province.
Ferrer, who led the 28 mayors and five Negros Occidental solons in campaigning for the Marcos-Duterte tandem in the province, said that Marcos is committed to pour in more projects and programs to help uplift the economic conditions of Negrenses.
Louise Araneta, wife of Marcos, has family roots in Bago City, Negros Occidental.
Even before the start of the campaign period, Ferrer recalled that BBM (Bongbong Marcos) pledged to support the restoration of Negros Island Region through a Republic Act.
Newly proclaimed Fifth District Rep. Dino Yulo and Sixth District Rep. Mercedes Alvarez also vowed to pursue the NIR restoration when Congress opens in July this year, under the new administration.
Ferrer said he already discussed it with his wife, Fourth District Rep. Juliet Marie Ferrer, other members of Congress, as well as with Gov. Lacson and Bacolod City Mayor elect Alfredo Benitez.
With Marcos almost 17 million votes ahead of his closest rival, Vice President Leni Robredo, Ferrer said the Filipino people had spoken.
Partial and unofficial data from the Comelec shows that Robredo won in Negros Occidental by more than 30,000 votes against BBM, who on the other hand, won in highly-urbanized Bacolod City.
In Negros Oriental, BBM won by more than 30,000 against Robredo, according to Ferrer.
For us, it is a big victory, Ferrer stressed, as he recalled that in 2016 vice presidential race, Robredo won by more than 571,000 votes in Negros Occidental, against Marcos.
Because the mayors and volunteers worked hard to campaign for the BBM-Sara tandem, BBM provincial campaign spokesman, Sonny Coscolluela, said they ended victoriousas they managed to wipe out the deficit, this time in the 2022 presidential race.
Coscolluela said that the BBM national campaign manager Benjamin Abalos expected a big loss in Negros Occidental, dubbed as a “pink country.”
But the performance of mayors and volunteers, with motivation to work harder, is a classic turnaround, as they were able to make a big difference in favor of Marcos, he added.
We owe it to the 28 mayors and congressmen, aside from the volunteers, Ferrer said.*
