Marañon sees big win;
I'll try harder, Lito says
BY CARLA GOMEZ

“I will not only win, I will win by a big landslide.”

That was the reaction yesterday of Sagay Mayor Alfredo Marañon Jr., United Negros Alliance president and gubernatorial candidate, to a possible challenge from Sugar Regulatory Administrator Rafael “Lito” Coscolluela.

“In that case, I'll just try harder,” Coscolluela said in return.

The former governor of Negros Occidental on Monday said there is a 75 percent chance he will run for governor in 2010, he is in the middle of deliberations with his own core group and known allies in Negros Occidental.

Nationalist People's Coalition leaders in Negros Occidental yesterday said Sen. Loren Legarda's running for vice president with Nacionalista Party presidential bet Senator Manny Villar is not an indication that NPC will support him.

Legarda, in an interview in Manila , said she is joining the NP as a guest candidate for the 2010 elections. There will be no merger between the NP and NPC, but more of a shared platform for the election, Legarda was quoted on the ABS-CBN website.

She received the blessing of NPC leaders to choose a standard-bearer after their leading candidate, Sen. Francis Escudero, abandoned the party, Legarda said.

Business leaders in Negros Occidental yesterday called for more government support to insure the viability of the ethanol industry, stressing that green fuel is the Philippines ' way out of “a hostage economy”.

Government should “walk the talk” on its push for green energy by providing adequate support to ensure its growth, Roberto Montelibano, Metro Bacolod Chamber of Commerce and Industry president, said, noting the president's batting for the program at the recent Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Singapore.

Montelibano said they were issuing the call for help amid the President's recent lifting of a price freeze in the typhoon hit areas of the country on fuel that is mostly foreign dependent. This is expected to push up the prices of other commodities, he said.