Bacolod City – Bacolod Lone District Rep. Alfredo Abelardo Benitez disclosed recently that almost 40 of the 50 solons from Visayas under the 20th Congress, are members of the Visayan bloc.
Benitez, the convenor of Visayan bloc, met on September 26 with the region’s lawmakers, some being neophyte members of the House of Representatives, and briefed them on how the group started, and its goal and direction of adding allocation and resources to the Visayas.
Among those who attended from Negros Occidental, as seen in the photo posted by Benitez on his social media account, were his son, Rep. Javier Miguel Benitez (3rd district, Negros Occ), Rep. Mercedes Alvarez (6th district, Negros Occ), and Abang Lingkod party-list Rep. Manuel Frederick Ko.
A month before Leyte Rep. Ferdinand Martin Romualdez stepped down as the House Speaker, he formed the Visayas Caucus, bringing together House members across the Visayas to forge a more unified and effective voice for the region in national policymaking.
Romualdez served as the convenor, with regional chairpersons Rep. Janet Garin for Region 6 (Western Visayas), Rep. Lolypop Ouano-Dizon for Region 7 (Central Visayas), Rep. Yedda Romualdez for Region 8 (Eastern Visayas) and Rep. Jeffrey Ferrer for the Negros Island Region.
In his Facebook account, Benitez said he convened the Visayan Bloc in the House of Representatives “to strengthen regional collaboration toward meaningful reforms and progress for the region.”
Together, we remain committed to ensuring that our collective efforts lead to lasting progress of our people, the Bacolod solon added. (Gilbert Bayoran via tvds)