Grace Poe’s Palace run seen to split votes in Negros Occidental

BACOLOD CITY, Philippines—The entry of Sen. Grace Poe into the presidential race will split the votes in Negros Occidental province where most officials earlier declared support for the administration standard-bearer, Mar Roxas.

Some allies of Rep. Alfredo Abelardo Benitez of Negros Occidental’s third district, Liberal Party (LP) chair in the province, declared support for Poe after she announced her presidential bid on Wednesday.

Some officials even showed up at Ang Bahay ng Alumni on the University of the Philippines campus in Diliman, Quezon City, where Poe made her announcement.

They were Vice Mayors Mark Golez of Silay City, Enrique Miravalles of Valladolid and Felix Ferria of La Castellana; Rep. Stephen Paduano of Abang Lingkod, and Board Member Patrick Lacson.

Also at the event were former Bacolod Councilors Ricardo Tan and Al Victor Espino as well as Em Yap and Modesto Saonoy of the Grace Poe for President Movement.

‘Communication gap’

Lacson said Benitez was not able to attend the Poe declaration because he was at the wake of his father, former Human Settlements Minister Conrado “Jolly” Benitez, at Philippine Women’s University on Wednesday.

Benitez has yet to officially state his support for Poe although the congressman admitted there was a “communication gap” between him and Roxas.

Paduano, another close ally of Benitez, said it was his personal decision to support Poe.

“Poe is very sincere in her mission to serve the country and I believe she is the kind of leader who will listen and truly address the needs of the people, especially the poor,” Paduano said.

But he added he would consult his party-list group and Benitez on the matter.

Golez, a close family friend of Poe, said that while he believed Poe would make a good President, his decision to support the senator’s presidential bid would depend on Benitez’s choice for the top government position.

He admitted that there would be a lot of realignments now that Poe had publicly declared her bid to run for President.

Saonoy, one of the convenors of the Grace Poe for President Movement in Negros Occidental, said Roxas could no longer count on the Visayas as his bailiwick, with the entry of Poe in the presidential race.

Saonoy, a historian and writer, said members of the LP and the Nationalist People’s Coalition were shifting allegiance to Poe in Negros Occidental.

But Negros Occidental Gov. Alfredo Marañon, a staunch supporter of Roxas, maintained that the LP standard-bearer still had the experience and the qualification to be the country’s next President.

He said a majority of the voters were from the younger generation whom he described as “thinking voters who would choose according to qualifications.”

Nothing new

Marañon said the programs that Poe outlined in her speech on Wednesday night were nothing new and were already being implemented by the Aquino administration and would be continued under a Roxas leadership.

He also said modernization of agriculture was also something the Aquino administration had heavily invested in, citing the help it provided Negros Occidental.

“It is easy for Poe to make promises. We should go for the candidate who is already tried and tested,” he said

Saonoy said that both Roxas and Poe had roots in the Visayas since their mothers are from Negros Occidental.

He also pointed out that while Poe was born in Iloilo province, Roxas was born in Manila.

Poe’s adoptive mother, Susan Roces, was born Jesusa Purificacion Sonora in Bacolod City on July 28, 1941, to Dr. Jesus Tonggoy Sonora and Purificacion Levy. Roces is a member of the Locsin clan of Negros and Iloilo, Saonoy added.

The parents of Judy Araneta-Roxas, Roxas’ mother, used to own sugar centrals in the cities Bago and Bacolod in Negros Occidental. They closed down the mills later and invested their money outside the province.