By EUGENE ADIONG
BACOLOD City — In case 3rd District Rep. Alfredo Abelardo Benitez decides to run for Senate in 2016, Gov. Alfredo Marañon Jr. will support him.
“I have been endorsing him a long ago,” said Marañon. “I will support him. The whole Negros will support him.”
He said Negros Occidental has not had a senator for a long time, and “we need representation in the Senate.”
Reports had it that Benitez was being invited by no less than President Benigno Aquino III to join the ruling Liberal Party’s senatorial ticket.
Benitez, the party’s regional chair, is currently serving his second term as congressman.
Asked about the intention of two Lacson cousins in running for congressman to replace Benitez in case he runs for senator, Marañon said, “No comment … You ask them.”
Mayors Andrew Lacson Montelibano of Murcia and David Albert Lacson of EB Magalona have expressed interest in gunning the 3rd District congressional post.
Marañon acted even more elusive when asked about his plans for 2016.
“I don’t speak about politics,” he said. “That’s the favorite topic of Filipinos, especially in coffee shops, from morning, noon, up to the evening. But we should discuss projects rather than politics.”
Still, he pitched an idea related to politics. “What I know is that former governor Rafael Coscolluela and I, who were political foes, are now allies,” he said.
Marañon defeated Coscolluela in the gubernatorial race in 2010.
Coscolluella now serves as Marañon’s consultant on investments and promotions, trade and export development, and interagency coordination./PN
