Ma. Lourdes Arroyo Lesaca, sister of the late Rep. Ignacio Arroyo Jr., yesterday said she is set to register as a voter of the fifth district of Negros Occidental,

A special election will be held in the fifth district of Negros Occidental in late April or early May this year to fill Arroyo’s congressional seat, while regular elections for the post will also be held in May next year.

The law requires a one-year residency in a congressional district for one to run for representative of the area, COMELEC spokesman James Jimenez said yesterday.

COMELEC records show, however, that Lesaca is not an active or inactive registered voter of the fifth district of Negros Occidental.

Lesaca told the DAILY STAR she voted in Payao, Binalbagan, in 2004 when her brother first ran for congressman of the fifth district.

In the 2007 elections, she voted in Iloilo and in 2010 in Quezon City when her husband ran for councilor, Lesaca said.

Lesaca said she will register again in the fifth district of Negros Occidental, either today or next week, so she can run for the post her brother held and continue his work there.

She wants to give back to the people of the fifth district for the outpouring of love they showed for her brother following his death, she said.

The congressman died in London on January 26 after a long battle with cirrhosis of the liver.

The Arroyo family own properties in Isabela and Binalbagan.*CPG

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