More Love Negros members are openly expressing their support for the United Negros Alliance tandem of Governor Alfredo Marañon Jr. and Rep. Jeffrey Ferrer (Neg. Occ., 4 th District) for the May 2016 polls.

Bago City Mayor Ramon Torres and Vice Mayor Nicholas Yulo yesterday endorsed the tandem, while last week Pulupandan Mayor Miguel Peña and his vice mayor Antonio Suatengco did the same.

On Wednesday, Ferrer said more Love Negros members are expected to make similar announcements, with 70 percent already supporting them.

Vice Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson of Love Negros has yet to decide whether he will seek reelection. When asked for his reaction to Ferrer's claim, Lacson said “Does he even know how many members belong to Love Negros?”

Meanwhile, Torres and Yulo, of Love Negros, together with Board Members Victor Javellana (Love Negros) and Jose Benito Alonso (UNA), called on the governor at his office at the Capitol yesterday to express their full support to the Marañon-Ferrer tandem.

More mayors belonging to Love Negros are expected to follow suit in the coming days, Marañon also said.

As a result of the Bago City group's support, the governor disclosed, Yulo, who will run for mayor as Torres is on his last term, will be unopposed in the coming elections.

“We are very happy that there is unity among Negros political leaders. This reconciliation and political maturity will consequently redound to better services and faster economic growth for the province,” Marañon said.

“This is the healing process, the local officials of Negros are gradually uniting under the leadership of the governor,” after a split in the 2013 polls, Ferrer said.

Meanwhile, Liberal Party presidential aspirant Mar Roxas recently asked former Negros Occidental Gov. Rafael “Lito” Coscolluela if reports were true that he is running for congressman of the third district of Negros Occidental.

Coscolluela yesterday said he does not have an answer to that, he is not thinking about it, he has too much work to do that are not related to politics.

Marañon said Wednesday that UNA is not fielding candidates against Rep. Alfredo Abelardo Benitez (Neg. Occ., 3rd District) and Rep. Mercedes Alvarez (Neg. Occ., 6 th District) of Love Negros in the 2016 polls.

On the possibility that Coscolluela may run against Benitez, Marañon said he is not a member of UNA.

Coscolluela heads the Aton Tamdon Utod Negrosanon Party, he pointed out.*CPG

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