MAYORALTY candidates and congressional bets for both the first and second district in Cagayan de Oro signed on Saturday a compact that states their respective platforms of government.
Emilio Rana, city director of the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), facilitated the compact signing.
Rana said whoever would win in the May 10 elections should abide by the promises they proclaimed.
The signing was held during the Candidates’ Forum on Good Governance at the Xavier University Little Theatre organized by the local chapter of the Junior Chamber International (JCI) Macajalar 24 Kilometers.
Five of the six mayoralty candidates attended the forum were “grilled” by the audience.
Those who attended include incumbent Vice Mayor Vicente Emano of PaDayon Pilipino, lawyer Berchmans Abejuela of Liberal Party, Jasper Uy, Felix Borres, and Romerico Llorin.
The other mayoralty bet, first district incumbent Representative Rolando Uy of Lakas-Kampi-CMD, failed to attend due to an emergency meeting with party officials in Manila.
Among the few questions asked to each of the candidates, the most controversial one thrown to Emano was to enumerate “the things he had done as vice mayor of the city.”
“As vice mayor, gamay ra tingali kay mag-agad man lang kita sa mando sa mayor (I have to depend on the mayor's order) but I have also done a lot to serve the people of Cagayan de Oro and maintain peace and order,” Emano answered.
Though Abejuela, Villarico, Jasper Uy and Borres did well as far as their platforms are concerned, all of them failed to give specific programs.
Meanwhile, six of the congressional candidates from both the first and second districts in the city joined the forum. They were given guidelines for their platforms from representatives of the religious, legal and health sectors.
Dr. Dures Tagayuna of the Philippine College of Surgeons in Northern Mindanao asked the candidates how they would deal with the present situation of the J.R. Borja Memorial City Hospital.
Based on their responses, only incumbent Representative Rufus Rodriguez, Samual Jardin, and Benjo Benaldo were able to give concrete platforms.
After the forum, John Baltazar, project coordinator, said the candidates must look upon a good legislation on environment concerns regarding flooding and illegal logging, health programs such as the lack of medicines and the increase of mortality rate of the hinterland barangays.
Baltazar said there is also a need for the candidates to focus on proper garbage disposal, drainage, scholarship grants and employments.
But most importantly, he said there must also be transparency and accountability among the candidates.