Many members of the Nationalist People's Coalition in Negros Occidental are inclined to go for Local Government Secretary Mar Roxas in his bid for the presidency, Kabankalan Mayor Isidro Zayco, NPC provincial chairman, said yesterday.

“They are inclined to go with Mar because he is from the Visayas,” said Zayco, who is also a former governor of Negros Occidental.

Vice Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson said the key leaders of the NPC in Negros Occidental are for Roxas.

Zayco and Lacson were reacting to a report of a possible NPC-Nacionalista Party alliance to support the presidential bid of Senator Grace Poe with Senator Francis Escudero as her running mate.

“In the past, the NPC leadership allowed us to support the presidential candidate of our choice….If the NPC endorses a Poe-Escudero tandem I will seek guidance from our NPC national leaders and act accordingly,” said Lacson, who has repeatedly announced his support for Roxas.

For now the NPC is just talking, nothing is definite with both Poe and Roxas not even having declared their candidacies, he said.

He does not believe there is an NPC-NP merger already, the elections are a long way off, many changes are still possible, Zayco said.

“Nothing is certain yet,” he said.

Yesterday, Senator Cynthia Villar denied that the NPC and NP are forming a tactical alliance to support Poe and Escudero.

“Former Senate President Manny Villar and I are as surprised as everyone else to learn about this announcement,” Villar said in a statement. “We have to first determine the plans of our own members before we can express support for non-members,” she said.

Aside from the vice governor there are 16 NPC mayors in Negros Occidental and three congressmen, Zayco said.

Negros Occidental, including Bacolod City, has seven congressmen and 32 mayors.*CPG

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