By Dolly Yasa
Bacolod City – Mayor Salvador Escalante of Cadiz City, Negros Occidental and secretary-general of the United Negros Alliance (UnegA) said their group has yet to decide on their candidate for vice governor in 2025 in lieu of Vice Governor Jeffrey Ferrer who declared he will not run for a third term.
Escalante told Daily Guardian on Tuesday that nothing was finalized in their meeting during the weekend.
“Wala pa final,” he said adding that it is too early to declare.
“Kon mag-announce ka now, almost one year and half guid imo kampanya. Looy man.” (If you announce now, you will campaign for a year and a half. What a pity.)
Earlier, Escalante said that while they have a short list of possible bets, “it is not official yet.”
“We will have to decide on it,” he stressed.
Escalante, who is also a former provincial board member and whose name also came out as a possible vice gubernatorial bet, said he is not on the shortlist as he begged off.
He said he is inclined to seek re-election in 2025 and finish his third term as Cadiz City mayor.
Escalante also said that the name of La Castellana mayor Alme Rhummlyla Nicor-Mangilimutan is not on the shortlist but pointed out it does not mean she will not be considered.
“It will be decided by the group and anyone is considered a candidate,” he said.
Escalante also reiterated that UNegA is committed to supporting Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson who has declared his re-election bid for a third term in 2025.
He stressed that the coalition between the group of the governor, the Love Negros Team, and UNegA remains strong.
Under the coalition UNegA we will not field a candidate for governor and Love Negros Team on the other hand will support the vice gubernatorial candidate of UNegA.
Escalante said out of the 31 mayors in the province, 14 are UNegA members.
Earlier, UNegA president Ferrer said that he will no longer seek possible unopposed re-election as vice governor in 2025.
He said he will instead run for congressional representative in the fourth district where his wife Rep. Juliet Marie Ferrer is serving her last term.
