They may have different choices for president in the coming elections, but the leaders of Love Negros and the United Negros Alliance have found ways to strengthen their hold at the local level, at least in most areas.
The unity ticket has made it possible for most local chief executives who are running unopposed to support whoever they want for the national positions. And from what I heard from the grapevine, the biggest winner is likely to be Davao Mayor Sarah Duterte who is also the choice for vice-president among those who are said to be supporting the presidential bid of Vice-President Leni Robredo.
Vice Governor Jeffrey Ferrer is going for former Senator Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. which is not surprising because he is married to the granddaughter of Roberto Benedicto, a known ally of the late dictator, Ferdinand Marcos.
Jeffrey was keen on supporting the vice-presidential bid of Senator Bong Go then and even helped organize a caravan for the latter in Bacolod last month. But when Go joined the charade of substitution, running for president and most recently, withdrawing his candidacy altogether, it gave Jeffrey the way out to publicly support Senator Marcos.
Of course, Jeffrey’s stronghold is the fourth district, where his wife Rep. Juliet Ferrer, is also the congressional bet. It is expected that they will deliver votes for Marcos in their area but there may be surprises there because there are a lot of Laban Leni groups working for Robredo in the fourth district, particularly in Bago, La Carlota, and Valladolid. In fact, a birdie whispered to me that La Carlota Mayor Rex Jalando-on is said to be supporting Robredo?
Full disclosure, I am for Leni Robredo and Kiko Pangilinan for president and vice-president but I took it upon myself not to openly criticize the choice of others as they may have their own reasons, no matter how skewed it may seem.
A businessman friend told me that they are looking at the situation but at the end of the day, they may have to support the winning candidate, and right now, surveys (if you still believe in them) say that Marcos is the front-runner.
In my circle of friends, we are not united in our choice for president either but we respect each other’s choices. Of course, they have to contend with the fact that when we see each other on Wednesdays, I will be proudly wearing my pink outfits and they just have to deal with it as well.
I have clients who are also going for Marcos and they know that I am for Robredo but we find ways to work around it instead. This goes without saying that they are forewarned not to schedule a Wednesday meeting if they don’t want to see red in my pink!
My friends know that I have never been a ‘pink’ person. I probably have a couple of pink outfits in my closet before Robredo signified her bid for the presidency. Now, thanks to online shopping, I have about a dozen of them and a friend has made a bid for all of it to be handed over to her right after the elections.
This color craze has never been evident in past elections than now. And personally, I have never been this much affected by elections in the past than today as well. I am just glad that unlike some families I know who are divided in their choices, my family is solidly tickled pink this time.
Governor Bong Lacson is a member of the Nationalist People’s Coalition (NPC) and has remained with his party even when others chose to jump ship/s many times for political patronage. Of course, NPC is fielding Senator Tito Sotto who is running in tandem with Senator Panfilo Lacson. But Bong has not said anything yet on whom he will be supporting for the top post.
A little birdie told me that the second district led by the Maranon’s are going for Leni-Sarah. The third district may be divided as well unless the Benitez brothers, Kiko and Albee, will openly endorse a presidentiable. But they cannot discount the big groups of Leni supporters in their area, particularly in their hometown where Victorias for Leni are very visible.
Negros Occidental may not have that much problem in getting pressured to deliver votes for the national posts in general, as many of them are running unopposed. It will be in the bigger cities where the fight will get ugly as in the case of Bacolod.
Re-electionist Mayor Bing Leonardia nor his contender, Albee Benitez, have said anything as to whom they will support for the presidency. At least, from all indications, Sarah is getting their nod for VP but they must tread carefully as to their choice for president because it is in major cities that supporters from all sides are quite rabid.
This is also why I vowed to stop reading comments in news threads as they can be very toxic. In fact, some have even axed friends from their social media pages because of differing opinions. Ah, but at the end of the day, we probably are mere specks and do not matter to any of these politicians. To destroy family and friendships because of it is absurd.
What is important is you stand by your choice, you can defend your choice and you vote with what’s in your heart. And my heart is all pink, so deal with it!*