Victorias Mayor Javier Miguel “Javi” Benitez said on Friday, July 26, that his family will support the reelection bid of Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson Jr. even if their relative Francis Frederick “Wantan” Palanca insists on running for governor.
Palanca, a former Victorias City mayor, is a cousin of Betty Bantug Benitez, the late mother of Bacolod Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez and Rep. Francisco Benitez (Neg. Occ., 3rd District) and grandmother of Javi Benitez.
It is not known if Palanca will pursue the governorship in 2025 under the Partido Demokratiko Pilipino of former president Rodrigo Duterte as floated earlier.
“We have already signified our support for Gov. Bong Lacson. I don’t know what he (Palanca) is thinking, he has his own mind,“ the Victorias mayor said.
The mayor also would not say what post his father, Bacolod Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez, would run for in 2025.
“I think even his partymates don’t know what he is running for, as they say in business until the ink is dry,” he said.
His father wants to make the best decision for Bacolod City, this is nothing that should be taken lightly, he added.*