Leni's slim lead over BBM in Neg Occ 'big turnaround'

[ASEAN NOW News]

RALLY. Presumptive president Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. speaks before the crowd during the UniTeam campaign rally at the Reclamation Area in Bacolod City last February. Marcos obtained the highest number of votes among the presidential candidates in Bacolod City. (Photo from Bongbong Marcos Facebook page)

 

BACOLOD CITY – Negros Occidental Vice Governor Jeffrey Ferrer, a top local ally of presumptive president Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. on Thursday was unfazed by Vice President Leni Robredo topping the polls in the province, highlighting instead the slim lead she garnered.

 

As of Thursday, with 100 percent of local results already in, Robredo obtained 527,321 votes in Negros Occidental while Marcos got 482,344 votes.

 

In Bacolod, Marcos ranked first with 121,179 votes while Robredo was second with 112,051 votes.

 

Ferrer said that during the 2016 vice presidential race, Robredo was ahead of Marcos by 571,000 votes in both the province and the city.

 

However, in the May 2022 polls, Marcos narrowed the gap and was behind Robredo by only more than 35,000 votes.

 

“For us, it’s a big victory. Meaning, this is not a pink country. I would like to congratulate the mayors. With this one, the mayors just made the effort to support their candidates,” Ferrer told reporters.

 

In Negros Occidental, twenty-eight out of the thirty-one town and city mayors as well as Bacolod City mayor-elect Alfredo Benitez have expressed support to the UniTeam of Marcos and Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte.

 

Former Murcia town mayor Esteban Coscolluela, spokesperson for Marcos in Negros Occidental, credited the mayors and the volunteers who supported the presumptive president for the turnaround.

 

Meanwhile, Duterte won both in the province and the city, garnering 475,854 votes in Negros Occidental and 120,394 votes in Bacolod City.

 

Robredo’s running mate Senator Francis Pangilinan got 376,288 votes in Negros Occidental and 76,095 votes in Bacolod City. (PNA)

 

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