The United Negros Alliance is inviting Ambassador Eduardo “Danding” Cojuangco to its party caucus to be held in about two weeks, where it will announce its candidates for the May 2013 polls, Negros Occidental Gov. Alfredo Marañon Jr. said yesterday.

Cojuangco is the founder of UNA and the Nationalist People’s Coalition.

Marañon, who heads UNA and the NPC in Negros Occidental, said that except for the second district, where his son, Rep. Alfredo Marañon III, is on his third and last term, it is likely that the five other solons of the province will remain UNA’s candidates for the same posts next year.

He said it is possible that his nephew, Sagay Mayor Rafael Leo Cueva, will run for congressman of the second district in place of his son.

The governor denied that his nephew, businessman Dave Sarrosa, is one of the contenders, but said several people are being considered for the second district post, including, maybe, himself.

The governor has yet to confirm whether he is seeking reelection but his allies widely believe that he will seek a second term as head of the province.

Marañon said he does not know anything about the rumors that Rep. Julio Ledesma IV, will run for governor. Ask the congressman, he told reporters.

The governor said opponents in elections are necessary to give people a choice, “That is the essence for democracy,” he said.

Ledesma (first district) and the other Negros representatives -- Alfredo Abelardo Benitez (third district), Jeffrey Ferrer (fourth district), Alejandro Mirasol (fifth district) and Mercedes Alvarez (6th district) -- are most likely to seek re-election, the governor said.

Marañon said the UNA caucus will decide their coalition’s candidates from the first to sixth district of Negros Occidental. Bacolod City, which is a highly urbanized city, is not part of UNA.*CPG

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