Love Negros officials are set to meet on Saturday, September 18, in preparation for the filing of the certificates of candidacy (COCs) in October, Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson said Wednesday, September 15.
It will be a small gathering of Love Negros officials at Nature’s Village Resort in Talisay City, he said.
The United Negros Alliance is also set to hold a virtual meeting with its members on Saturday, Vice Gov. Jeffrey Ferrer, UNegA president, said Tuesday.
Lacson said it is a coincidence that Love Negros and UNegA members, who are in an alliance, will be holding their separate meetings on the same day.
The governor said he has to sit down with UNegA on the plan of Board Member Agustin Ernesto “Tinto” Bascon of Love Negros to run for mayor of Himamaylan City.
Bascon will be challenging Himamaylan Mayor Raymund Tongson of UNegA.
“Both are our friends so it is very difficult to just choose one,” Lacson said.
Lacson said they have a candidate for board member to replace Bascon. “I’ll give that to Board Member Tinto to announce, we have allowed him to appoint his replacement,” Lacson said.
Tongson said he is running for reelection with Vice Mayor Justin Gatuslao and the incumbent councilors of Himamaylan City under UNegA.
Ferrer is supporting their UNegA slate and he will respect whatever decision Lacson makes, Tongson said.
They will still support the reelection bids of Lacson and Ferrer out of respect for the Love Negros–UNegA coalition, he added.
Lacson said he will sit down with Ferrer to discuss how to handle areas where there are two individuals contesting the same seat.
“It is his highly possible that Himamaylan City will be a free zone” during the 2022 polls, he said.
Kabankalan Mayor Pedro Zayco also said his group is supporting the Lacson-Ferrer tandem.
The focus of Love Negros now is to secure the certificates of nomination of their members, Lacson said.
Lacson said he is meeting with Ferrer to decide on the day that they will be filing their certificates of candidacy, along with the board members.
They will schedule the hours for the filing of their CoCs so they will not crowd the COMELEC office amid the COVID-19 pandemic, he added.*