The race for the lone congressional seat of Bacolod is now a five-cornered fight with businessman Danny Atayde joining the race, while Ricardo “Cano” Tan is seeking a comeback as city councilor.
Bacolod Rep. Greg Gasataya, who is running for reelection under the Nationalist People’s Coalition, has chosen to stay neutral on the race for city mayor, saying incumbent Evelio Leonardia and his challenger Alfredo Abelardo Benitez are both his friends.
Atayde, a former consultant of the Bacolod Real Estate Development Corp. (Bredco) port and a businessman from Barangay Villamonte, said he wants to see to the creation of an economic zone in the city to give people jobs and help the poor by drawing more industries to Bacolod.
He is running as an independent and filed his certificate of candidacy (COC) on Friday, October 8.
The other candidates for congressman of Bacolod City are retired Col. Wlifredo David, Narciso San Miguel and Romy Gayo Gustilo.
Meanwhile, Tan filed his COC Friday under the Aksyon Demokratiko, a party of presidential candidate Isko Moreno.
Even if he is not a member of the two major political groups in the city, he has ran as an independent in the past and won, Tan said.
“The strongest political party is the party of the people of Bacolod,” he said.
Tan said “with God as my protector and the people as my backbone, I swear to serve our city council with utmost integrity and honesty. You know me, indi ako kawatan (I am not a thief),” he said.
Tan said he will support a Bacolod mayoral bet but did not say whom yet.*