Ilocos Norte candidates sign peace covenant
WITH most of the candidates for the local election in the province present, Diocese of Laoag Bishop Sergio Utleg enjoined them to sign the peace covenant after the mass he had officiated as he told them to obey and respect the law, stressing, “our laws are good if they are followed.” The mass was attended by most of the local candidates for municipal, city and provincial posts with police provincial director Roman Felix earlier made arrangements with the bishop and the provincial chairperson of the Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting (PPCRV), and the Commission on Elections (Comelec), represented by provincial election supervisor Atty. Alipio Castillo for the holding of this activity at the St. William’s Cathedral here in Laoag City. The mass for peace and the signing of the peace covenant aim to ensure honest, orderly and peaceful elections on May 14. As the Laoag bishop delivered his homily in front of the candidates, he noted that politics is the major cause of the country’s backward economy as a whole. “Even if the church is not allowed in partisan politics, the church has to get involved in politics. We are all good but when it comes to politics, our bad behavior comes out,” the bishop said as he appealed to the candidates to follow the election rules and regulations, particularly in campaign expenditures, on vote buying and election violence that usually occur. He added that in order to for us to have honest and fair elections, everybody, including those who hold leftist beliefs, should be given a chance and the right to speak their minds as long as they express it in a peaceful manner. To the members of the Philippine National Police (PNP), Comelec, the Department of Education (DepEd), and other concerned groups and individuals, Utleg appealed to them to adhere to the governing laws and for them to follow the dictate of their conscience. He also urged the electorate not to sell or “prostitute” their votes saying: “Once you sold your vote, you no longer have the right to complain. Instead you must be vigilant in every way so that the truth will come out.” The bishop also cited the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and the multi-sectoral Green Ilocos Norte Network and Advocacy (GINNA) team for their effort in removing campaign paraphernalia and other announcements nailed on trees as he expressed his admiration to them for their endeavor to implement the law. Though the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) discovered in their surveys which indicated that the people have already lost their trust in the government because nothing has changed for them, the church is still calling for transformation and this can only be attained through honest, peaceful and orderly elections, where the true will of the people will be reflected. He then urged the local candidates to make the covenant meaningful saying, “Let’s make the covenant signing meaningful. If we sign, we must be sincere and abide by the covenant. If you win, you must serve not yourself but the people.” Among the issues tackled by the said covenant is the pledge of the candidate not to corrupt voters with money and not to impose their will on them by force, violence, threat or intimidation. The covenant also bound the candidates not to use “guns, goons and gold” in the conduct of their respective campaign. Meanwhile, Region I police director P/Chief Supt. Leopoldo Bataoil, who also attended the covenant signing, thanked the Catholic Church, the PPCRV, PNP and the Comelec for their support in this endeavor. “I believe that we are heading towards a peaceful, orderly and credible elections here in Ilocos Norte,” Bataoil said adding that the activity was well attended by almost all the candidates in the province. Missing in the said signing however was former Ilocos Norte Governor and Rep. Rodolfo C. Fariñas, who is running again for the gubernatorial post against the Marcos-backed Sangguniang Panlalawigan member Michael M. Keon. According to Fariñas, he received the covenant signing invitation, though dated April 12, only on April 17, or the day before the April 18 event and that he already scheduled a campaign sortie in Surong Valley, Vintar, Ilocos Norte. The said sortie location is a remote part of the municipality and Fariñas did not want to disappoint his supporters there by canceling it. To correct this, Fariñas authorized his nephew, Laoag City re-electionist Mayor Michael V. Fariñas to sign in his behalf as he said he would also abide by the contents of the covenant. Leilanie G. Adriano
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