Former Rep. Alfredo Abelardo “Albee” Benitez said Monday, July 26, that he is confident that the Election Registration Board will dismiss the opposition to his registration to vote in Bacolod City.
“I expect the decision within the week, with the evidence we have presented I am very confident it (the opposition) will not progress,” he said.
Three oppositors aligned with Mayor Evelio Leonardia’s Grupo Progreso have claimed that Benitez is not a resident of his family’s compound at Mountain View Subdivision in Bacolod City.
Benitez, who has announced that he is running for mayor of Bacolod in 2022, disputed the claims of the oppositors and their witnesses saying they are not even residents of Mountain View Subdivision.
Benitez said he does not have a slate yet for his Bacolod City run.
“So far it’s only me, maybe it will just be me,” he added.
Bacolod opposition councilor, Wilson Gamboa Jr., in a post on his Facebook page, said “I will run for vice mayor in 2022 but if former congressman Benitez chooses me to be his runningmate I am open.”*