HUNDREDS of individuals aspiring to be the next barangay captain, councilor and Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) official in various parts of Cebu vowed to ensure a peaceful and clean election season.
They were among the barangay and SK candidates who joined the nationwide signing of the peace covenant, together with law enforcers from the Philippine National Police (PNP) and officers from the Commission on Elections (Comelec) held yesterday, or a day before the campaign period of the twin polls kicks off.
In Cebu City, Senior Insp. Arieza Otida, chief of the Cebu City Police Office’s Police Community Relations Section (CPPO – PCR), said that all 80 barangays of (villages) in the city participated in the covenant signing.
She added there were more than 1,000 barangay and SK aspirants, both from the north and south districts of Cebu City, who swore to keep the election peaceful, orderly and clean.
In Lapu-Lapu City and Liloan town, those who joined the covenant signing also expressed their support for a peaceful election through several events, such as unity walks, biking and zumba.
Over 500 people in Lapu-Lapu City, which also included PNP and Philippine Air Force personnel, joined a fun run and zumba event prior to the peace covenant signing.
Participants gathered at the Lapu-Lapu City Hall grounds as early as 4:30 a.m. yesterday, some of them were already dressed in their zumba outfits.
In Liloan town, 21 kilometers north of Cebu City, hundreds of candidates for the barangay and SK polls, together with local Comelec officials, police personnel and the Liloan Traffic Commission, initiated a unity walk yesterday as a pre-covenant signing event.
After the covenant signing at the Liloan Gymnasium in Barangay Poblacion, the police also presented 172 loose firearms surrendered to their office last week, in the presence of Cebu Provincial Police Office (CPPO) director Senior Supt. Edgar Alan Okubo and Liloan Mayor Ma. Christina Frasco.
Big step
While the ceremonial, simultaneous signing of peace pacts were considered a big step on achieving a peaceful elections, for Cebu City Councilor Dave Tumulak, the religious sector’s participation is a crucial contribution.
This prompted Tumulak, the deputy mayor on police matters, to seek the help of the Archdiocese of Cebu to tap church leaders down to the sitios (sub-villages) in urging candidates and their supporters to observe a peaceful
campaigning period.
He added that seeking the assistance of the religious sector is appropriate since its leaders are considered as non-partisans.
“The church has chapel leaders. A church has several barangays that
belong to them, and each barangay have chapel leaders per sitio. Not only are they clearly non-partisan but they can reach out easily to the communities,” Tumulak explained.
Intense rivalries
The Comelec in Cebu province also echoed the calls for a safe and fair elections, and stressed that barangay elections may mean intense rivalries
between neighbors or relatives living within the same community.
“We must remember that this is a barangay election. Your opposing candidates might be your neighbor or you have any family relations. Mas maayo nga (It is better) after the election, the relationship that was built through the years, after the election, would still be the same,” said Cebu Provincial Election Supervisor Lionel Marco Castillano.
He also reminded candidates of their primary reason why they seek for the barangay posts.
“Anyway, the purpose is to serve not to ruin each other. Kuyog ra gihapon mo sa barangay, dugay namong amigo (You are from the same barangay and you are friends for a longer time). Tungod lang sa election mag-away mo (You are fighting just because of the election). It is not worth it,” Castillano added.
Social media, too
But for aspiring Cambinocot barangay captain Florencio Ibutan, the promise to keep a safe and clean elections should also be applied in the virtual realm.
Ibutan, now an outgoing barangay councilor in Cambinocot in Cebu City, emphasized this during a speech inside the gym of Barangay Adlaon where the covenant signing of 11 mountain villages in Cebu City was held yesterday.
“Naay daghan pangdaot sa FB (Facebook) bisag katong wala ko nidagan ug wala pa ang elections. Di na maayo nga mangdaot ka. Makadala ra na og gubot sa social media (There’s a lot of mudslinging in FB even before I filed my candidacy and before the elections. It’s not right to put people in a bad light. It will only bring trouble in social media),” said Ibutan. /with Jessa Mae Sotto and PIT Intern Glazelle Bless Viter