Negros Occidental Vice Governor Jeffrey Ferrer, who is eyeing a return as representative of the fourth district, will have his biggest challenger in Lea Delfinado, former assistant secretary of the Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development (DHSUD), in the 2025 midterm elections.
Ferrer, a member of the National Unity Party (NUP), filed his certificate of candidacy (COC) Sunday afternoon.
Delfinado, the Nationalist People’s Coalition's (NPC) bet, submitted her COC on Saturday.
“Our vision in the fourth district will continue, including the unfinished projects and the advocacy in collaboration with the local government units,” the vice governor said in an interview at the provincial capitol here, where the Commission on Elections provincial office receives the COC.
Ferrer, who held the position of congressman for three terms before he was elected vice governor in 2019, is looking to succeed his wife, two-termer Rep. Juliet Marie Ferrer.
The move of the NPC, led by the scions of the late businessman and politician Eduardo “Danding” Cojuangco Jr., to field Delfinado against Ferrer prompted some members in the fourth district to leave the party in support of Ferrer.
Among those who transferred from the NPC to the NUP are Bago City Mayor Nicholas Yulo and Vice Mayor Ramon Torres.
The elder Cojuangco was the founder of the NPC, which counts reelectionists Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson and 6th District Rep. Mercedes Alvarez as members in Negros Occidental.
In late September, Delfinado, also a former regional director of the Department of Public Works and Highways-Western Visayas, received a certificate of nomination and acceptance as the NPC’s official candidate from Cojuangco’s daughter, Lisa Cruz, and granddaughter, Claudia Cojuangco, whose father was the late congressman Charlie Cojuangco.
Before he was elected Tarlac First District representative for two terms from 2016 to 2022, Charlie Cojuangco served as congressman of Negros Occidental's fourth district for three terms from 1998 to 2007.
Delfinado, who retired after serving the DPWH for 36 years and the DHSUD for a year, said she intends to bring progress and development through programs that have yet to reach the people.
“I want to focus on my campaign to bring real change to the fourth district," she said. (PNA)
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