Garcia-Salimbangon tandem signs peace covenant in City of Naga

Some of the candidates of Cebu Province for the May 2019 elections join hands after a peace covenant signing in front of the St. Francis of Assisi Church in the City of Naga. CDN Digital photo | Morexette Marie B. Erram

Cebu City, Philippines – Cebu Third District representative and gubernatorial candidate Gwendolyn Garcia led the peace covenant signing among local bets of the Cebu Province for this year’s midterm elections at the St. Francis of Assisi Church in the City of Naga, Cebu on Tuesday, February 19, 2019.

Garcia of One Cebu/PDP-Laban was accompanied by her running mate, Daphne Salimbangon, and her brother Nelson Garcia, who is running for congressman in Cebu’s Seventh District.

Garcia and Salimbangon’s opponents, Cebu Vice Governor Agnes Magpale of Bakud/NPC and Governor Hilario Davide III of the Liberal Party, weren’t present during the event. 

“Maayo unta (naa sila) kay peace covenant man kaha unta ni. Unya unsa, partial peace ra man ni,” Garcia said. “We’re here because we committed (to the invitation).”

Garcia will face Magpale for the governor’s post of Cebu in the elections on May 13, 2019. Salimbangon, on the other hand, will go up against Davide.

Former Provincial Board Member Member Grecilda Sanchez – Zaballero, a political ally of Magpale and Davide, was present in the peace covenant and said that the incumbent governor and vice governor missed the event since they had prior commitments.

“Governor Junjun and Vice Governor Agnes are in Alegria to distribute cash incentives for BHWs (barangay health workers), which is line with their obligations,” said Sanchez-Zaballero, who is eyeing a seat in the Provincial Board for the Third District of Cebu.

“I’m sure they can do peace covenant signings (in the future). Naa sa Danao. It’s all over the place. And not just here in Naga City. It has to fit the schedule, ” she added.

Superintendent Virgilio Bayon-on, chief of the Public Community Relations of the Cebu Provincial Police Office (CPPO), said they invited all candidates in the province to take part in the signing of the peace covenant. 

But Bayon-on said they cannot compel all of them to join the event, especially those who have had their schedules booked before the invitations were received. 

“We made sure everyone was invited. We sent invitations to all since last week. Pero dili mapugos kay voluntary ni siya,” said Bayon-on. 

Bayon-on said  around 50 candidates, from those seeking to be town councilors to members of the Provincial Board (PB), attended the event which was organized by the Commission on Elections, CPPO and the Department of Interior and Local Government in Cebu province (DILG-Cebu). 

Those who attended included Talisay City Mayor Eduardo Gullas Sr., his grandson and Cebu First District representative Gerald Anthony “Samsam” Gullas, Naga City Mayor Kristine Vanessa Chiong, and Cebu Seventh District PB member Christopher Baricuatro. /bmjo