Negros coalition to protest against Binay's UNA party

BACOLOD CITY, Philippines — Negros Occidental Governor Alfredo Marañon Jr., chairman of the United Negros Alliance (UNA), recently said his party will file a protest before the Comelec against Vice President Jejomar Binay on the use of UNA as the name of the latter’s party.

“We were the first UNA. We will protest because we were the first to use the name. We have been using the name for 12 years already,” the governor said.

Marañon’s UNA is the biggest coalition of major political parties in Negros Occidental and is composed of majority of the province’s incumbent officials.

Binay’s UNA stands for United Nationalist Alliance, a new coalition of his party with Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban) and former President Joseph Estrada’s Pwersa ng Masang Pilipino (PMP).

Binay and Estrada have agreed to form a coalition to field common senatorial candidates in the 2013 midterm elections. Binay has also expressed interest in running for president in 2016 under UNA slate.

Marañon said UNA lawyers are preparing their complaints already, which will be submitted to the Comelec as soon as Binay’s UNA will register it as a political party in the poll body.