By Rjay Zuriaga Castor
Iloilo’s fourth district Rep. Ferjenel “Dr. Ferj” Biron has welcomed the formal declaration of a dismissed former police official to run as the district representative in the 2025 midterm elections.
“He is welcome. This is a free country so everybody can run,” he said in an interview on Thursday, noting that he is “not threatened” by a certain Charlie Sustento Jr. of Passi City.
The Ombudsman previously dismissed Sustento from the PNP for assaulting and pointing a gun at two people. He appealed the case with the Court of Appeals which still found him guilty of the charges but modified his punishment to demotion.
The Ombudsman also appealed the CA decision and managed to convince the appellate court that Sustento must be dismissed from the PNP because of the gravity of his offense. But Sustento quit the PNP upon learning that he was ordered dismissed.
A video of Sustento kicking an employee inside their office recently surfaced on social media. Sustento posted the video on his Facebook page and claimed it as “bait.”
He also alleged that the person he kicked was a thief and accused someone named “Dok” of attempting to tarnish his reputation.
Biron added that he is also not surprised by Sustento’s declaration of candidacy for the next election.
The congressman also slammed the allegations of the former police officer that he is an inactive representative of the district.
“I don’t know where he got the information that we are not active because every two weeks we are in our district. For 20 months, we have been sitting in the Commission on Appointments, so we ensure that our presence is felt by the 4th District,” he stressed.
Biron, currently in his first term, said earlier he might seek reelection. He also stressed that his slates in every town of the fourth district are complete and intact.
When asked about the circulating information that his son, Barotac Nuevo Mayor Bryant Paul Biron, will be running for vice governor, Biron responded, “That has not been discussed yet.”
He added that the vice gubernatorial candidate of Governor Arthur Defensor Jr. in the elections will be revealed in the next few days.
Biron announced that he would be pleased if one of his children is chosen as Defensor’s tandem.
“We are open to all possibilities if he (Bryant) will be chosen by the administration. I would be happy with that,” he said.
