DAGUPAN CITY—The two gubernatorial bets in the province did not show up at the peace covenant signing for provincial candidates organized by the Commission on Elections (Comelec) last March 24 at the Metropolitan Cathedral of the St. John The Evangelist in Dagupan.

Re-electionist 6th District Board Member Alfonso Bince, who joined the signing, said the absence of re-electionist Gov. Amado Espino Jr. and his lone opponent, Alaminos City Mayor Hernani Braganza, undermined the significance of the event.

He noted that those present also had prior commitments, the excuse given by both Espino and Braganza, but nonetheless chose to prioritize the covenant signing.

Among those who attended were re-electionist Vice Gov. Jose Ferdinand Calimlim, Espino’s running mate, and his opponent, retired Philippine National Police chief Arturo Lomibao, Braganza’s tandem.

Calimlim said he welcomes this symbolic effort in a bid to have clean and peaceful elections as he explained that the governor was attending a PhilHealth card distribution in the 6th District.

Others present were re-electionists 2nd District Rep. Leopoldo Bataoil and 3rd District Rep. Ma. Rachel Arenas, who is unopposed and has been substituted by her mother, socialite-philanthropist Rosemarie “Baby” Arenas, and Dagupan City Mayor re-electionist Benjamin Lim.

Also noticeably absent were Dagupan Vice Mayor Belen Fernandez and Rep. Gina de Venecia. Both were reportedly called to Malacanang for a conference.

Other candidates in the rest of the 44 towns and three cities in Pangasinan were no longer invited as they had their own peace covenant signing in their respective localities.

Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Socrates Villegas, who presided over the signing, advised the signatories to “keep in their heart and put into practice what they signed”.

He stressed that “there is no peace for those who do not pray, there is no peace without repentance, there is no peace for the proud and arrogant”.

At the same time, the prelate urged the voters that “on election day, before election day, let us make sure that the votes are cast, let us make sure that the votes are counted, let us make sure that the votes are canvassed and the right man, the right woman is proclaimed because that is the will of God for us”.

Lawyer Marino Salas, provincial election supervisor of Pangasinan, reiterated his call to the police and other public servants “to leave politics to politicians”.

For his part, Chief Superintendent Ricardo Marquez, police director of Region 1, said the Philippine National Police is “happiest with the peace covenant signing”.

Pangasinan is one of the 15 provinces identified by the Department of Interior and Local Government among the priority areas of concern because of perceived intense political rivalry and previous election-related violence.

In signing the covenant, the candidates pledged to focus their campaign on good governance and platform of agreement, refrain from personal attacks against their opponents, avoiding violence and the employment of any armed groups, no vote-buying and other election frauds.

They are also expected to accept nobly the results of the elections.

ALAMINOS CITY

Earlier in Alaminos City, three mayoralty candidates assembled on March 21 to pledge their agreement towards upholding the police’s Secure and Fair Elections 2013 (SAFE 2013) campaign as well as to express support for Espino.

NPC’s Arthur Celeste, CDP’s Teofilo Humilde Jr., and UNA’s Cesar Manzano said they have agreed to focus on their individual platforms this campaign period and not unfairly criticize one another.

The three also denounced Braganza for what they dubbed as “dirty” tactics.

“What Mayor Braganza did during the campaign rally of the Liberal Party here last week was contemptuous, arrogant, and without respect to a fellow candidate. Mayor Braganza used the podium to peddle lies indiscriminately, muddle the political issues and poison minds of the people,” they said.

Meanwhile, Espino, who was present during the event, thanked the three candidates for their support as he maintained that all the allegations against him are “nothing but dirty political maneuvers”.—Eva Visperas and Johanne R. Macob

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