Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson said on Wednesday, July 31, that he would prefer that former governor Isidro Zayco remains as the head of the Nationalist People’s Coalition in Negros Occidental.
Zayco on Tuesday said he does not want to be the provincial chairman of the NPC as he is not an elected official anymore, although he will remain with the party.
The provincial chairman should be Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson, Rep. Mercedes Alvarez (Neg. Occ. 6th District) or Rep. Gerardo Valmayor (Neg. Occ., 1st District, who are his partymates, Zayco said.
“He’s been wanting to step down but we always encourage him to stay on,” Lacson said.
“I would like to have him, he is the most senior member of the NPC and was a favorite of boss Danding Cojuangco,” Lacson said.
Cojuangco was the chairman emeritus of the NPC at the time of his death.
Lacson also said he is okay with Board Member Jose Benito Alonso being his runningmate in the 2025 polls.
The United Negros Alliance (UNegA) has yet to officially announce that it is fielding Alonso for vice governor but everybody knows already that it will be him, Lacson said.
Vice Governor Jeffrey Ferrer, UNegA president, is running for representative of the 4th District in 2025.
Alonso is one of the trusted allies of Ferrer, Lacson said.
The governor, who is a member of Love Negros, said they have had a coalition with UNegA since 2018 and he is comfortable with its choice.*