• GILBERT P. BAYORAN
While he did not name names, Negros Occidental Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson yesterday said that he will only support 10 of the 12 senatorial candidates of the Alyansa para sa Bagong Pilipinas.
Lacson had earlier announced support for independent senatorial candidates, former Senator Bam Aquino and Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan, who are not with the senatorial slate of the Alyansa para sa Bagong Pilipinas.
Lacson did not disclose the names of the two Alyansa senatorial candidates that he will not be supporting.
The Alyansa para sa Bagong Pilipinas is a coalition of candidates from political parties allied with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., the Partido Federal ng Pilipinas, Lakas-CMD, National Unity Party, Nationalist People’s Coalition, and the Nacionalista Party.
Lacson said the commitment of Visayas governors which form part of the coalition, was to support the Alyansa candidates.
Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia’s One Cebu Party has endorsed nine senatorial candidates from the administration slate for the 2025 midterm elections, also leaving the endorsement of two candidates uncertain.
Asked if he will be actively campaigning for Aquino and Pangilinan, Lacson said he will talk to the mayors of Negros Occidental if the candidates can be included in their sample ballots.
Negros Occidental, with more than two million voters, and Cebu, with over 3.7 million registered voters, are among the top six vote rich provinces in the country.
In the Negros Occidental gubernatorial race, Lacson, a member of the Nationalist People’s Coalition, is facing a challenge from former Victorias City Mayor Francis Frederick Palanca, affiliated with the Partido Demokratiko Pilipino.
Aside from his partymates, Lacson is also supported by members the local political groups Love Negros and United Negros Alliance (UNegA).*
