All eyes on Albee

Rep. Albee Benitez (Neg. Occ., 3 rd District) seems to be on the loose as he keeps everyone guessing what path he will take in preparation for the 2016 elections.

The solon who is also the provincial chair of the Liberal Party and the leader of Love Negros remains non-committal on what the parties or he will do come October.

By the way, I've always assumed that former governor and Kabankalan Mayor Isidro Zayco, who has more years in politics, respected by many and definitely a charmer is the head of Love Negros but it seems Albee is more and more looked upon as the one who will decide for the group.

Of course, we all know Albee has the resources and can command those under him, but at the same time, he has shown his leadership through his influence, particularly in Malacañang and in the Senate through his friends.

What could have happened along the way? We all know that Albee failed to join the numerous occasions where LP leaders converged to hear the President himself endorse their party's presidential candidate in Mar Roxas.

Albee was conveniently abroad during those times but the story in yesterday's issue gives a telltale sign that all is not well with Albee and the LP in their call to fully support Mar. For what else is the explanation in telling media to give him a little more time to make his decision known? We all know they have been given marching orders to toe the line and support Mar. The fact that Albee could not make that same endorsement clearly sends a signal that something is wrong.

Albee's quandary doesn't stop with his position as LP chairman in the province and as the leader of Love Negros. Except for a few, local party members like Vice Gov. Bong Lacson, Mayor Zayco and others have openly signified their support for Mar.

I've heard from the grapevine that the solon is allegedly disappointed, to say the least, over Mar's preference to support Gov. Alfredo Marañon without giving consideration to what LP members actually want.

It is no secret that the governor and the solon do not see eye to eye on a lot of issues, especially now that Freddie has announced there will be no merger between his party, the United Negros Alliance and Love Negros and that he has chosen Rep. Jeffrey Ferrer (Neg. Occ., 4 th District) to be his running-mate.

We also know that there is no love lost between Jeffrey and Albee. With the former already out of NPC, he joined others in independently showing their support for Mar in many occasions. As such, that may be another factor why Albee remains non-committal with regards to supporting Mar.

While I admire Albee's mobilization of resources not only to win the election at all cost for himself but for all his party mates, Mar and the administration were right in forming an alliance with the governor, though he may not be LP, because Freddie and Jeffrey have a track record that they can actually deliver votes.

If Albee so decides to relinquish himself from the ruling party and support somebody else, that will create a huge problem, maybe not for himself, but for all those officials who are depending on him to seek funding for their own candidacies.

Of course Albee has so much resources but I doubt if he will shell out hundreds of millions to fund the campaign of his Love Negros team without the backing of a political party. And how will this translate to those who have signified their support for Mar? Will they be in the back end of resource mobilization?

It was noticeable too that Bacolod Vice Mayor Greg Gasataya was in that meeting. Many are already saying Greg will run for the congressional post with Albee's blessings which means Rep. Evelio Leonardia might make a comeback and have a battle royale against Mayor Monico Puentevella.

Will Albee fund Greg's campaign too? And does that mean that he will also help Bing's campaign? With so many people looking up to him for support, financially and otherwise, Albee might have his hands full if he makes a wrong move in deciding whom to ally with.

It has been a trend that if push comes to shove, some political leaders will save themselves and woe to the rest along the line. This is the reason why alliances have been broken and politicians jump from one party to another and seen cuddling with former nemesis.

But I don't think Albee is that type. Besides, I like to stress that he has a lot of resources to spare and share. And let us not forget that in his district there are battle-royales expected to happen. At this point, if we look at the things he is facing, nobody wants to be in Albee's shoes.*

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