The seven legislative district representatives of Negros Occidental, including the highly urbanized Bacolod City, now all come from prominent political families as three former lawmakers are set to return to the House of Representatives this July.
In the 1st District, Julio Ledesma IV was proclaimed yesterday after securing a mandate for a new term during the May 12 polls.
He previously served in 1995-2004 and 2007-2016 in the legislative district comprising San Carlos City with Escalante City, Toboso, Calatrava, and Don Salvador Benedicto.
The returning lawmaker, husband of former actress Assunta de Rossi, comes from the landed Ledesma clan of San Carlos City.
Second District Representative Alfredo Marañon III, son of the late governor Alfredo Marañon Jr., was unopposed for his second term to represent the cities of Cadiz and Sagay, and Manapla town.
In the 4th District, Vice Governor Jeffrey Ferrer is also set to return to Congress to succeed his wife, Juliet Marie Ferrer, granddaughter of the late ambassador Roberto Salas Benedicto.
Ferrer previously served as congressman for the cities of Bago and La Carlota, and the municipalities of Pulupandan, Valladodid, San Enrique, and Pontevedra for three terms before he was elected vice governor in 2019.
Fifth District Representative Emilio Bernardino Yulo, a former provincial board member, was reelected for a second term as congressman of Himamaylan City, Hinigaran, Isabela, Binalbagan, Moises Padilla, and La Castellana.
Representative Mercedes Alvarez, daughter of her predecessor Genaro Alvarez, also obtained a mandate for a second term in the 6th District, comprising the cities of Kabankalan and Sipalay as well as the municipalities of Ilog, Candoni, Cauayan, and Hinoba-an.
In Bacolod, Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez was elected congressman of the city’s Lone district after serving as the local chief executive for only one term.
He succeeded Greg Gasataya, a former radio broadcaster with humble beginnings, who served in Congress for three terms.
Benitez was previously a congressman of the neighboring 3rd District that included the cities of Talisay, Silay, and Victorias, as well as the municipalities of E.B. Magalona and Murcia.
This time, his son, Victorias City Mayor Javier Miguel Benitez, was elected representative of the 3rd District, succeeding his uncle, now Technical Education and Skills Development Authority Director General Jose Francisco Benitez. (PNA)