20,000 supporters join Emano in filing COC

AN ESTIMATED 20,000 people trooped to the St. Augustine Cathedral Friday to show their support to incumbent Mayor Vicente Emano and his team who attended a mass before marching toward the city Commission on Elections (Comelec) to file their certificates of candidacy (COC).
 
The crowd, who reportedly came from different barangays in Cagayan de Oro, marched with Emano from the St. Augustine Cathedral towards the Comelec office.

CAGAYAN DE ORO. Incumbent Mayor Vicente Emano and his team march toward the city Commission on Elections with their supporters to file their certificates of candidacy. (Joey P. Nacalaban)

Vice President Jejomar Binay personally flew to Cagayan de Oro Friday to officially proclaim Emano and his lineup as local candidates under the United Nationalist Alliance (UNA) together with the former’s local party PaDayon Pilipino and Manny Villar’s Nacionalista Party (NP).
 
But reports said the people were only there upon “direct orders from Emano.”
 
Sun.Star Cagayan de Oro obtained a copy of a barangay memorandum stating that “barangay officials, including personnel, are directed to show support to Emano and his team.”
 
Memorandum No. 17-2012 dated October 4 signed by Cugman village chief Ricardo Pacheco stated that barangay council members, the employees, down to the barangay health workers, barangay nutrition scholars and tanods “are directed to attend and support the activity ‘Emano for Mayor’.”
 
“Attendance will be checked,” the memorandum read.
 
Earlier, reports said beneficiaries of Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) were allegedly threatened to be delisted if they will not appear during Emano’s filing of COC.
 
The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) in Northern Mindanao said politicians are not allowed to use the beneficiaries of 4Ps for their political activities.
 
However, the DSWD said the beneficiaries are not prevented from supporting any candidates.
 
But City Councilor Alexander Dacer denied this, saying this is only one form of “black propaganda done by their political opponents.”
 
“The people came in their own free will to join and support Mayor Emano, believing that his administration has done good to the people,” said Dacer, chair of the city council committee on urban poor.
 
Emano just laughed off the accusations, saying “black propaganda is a normal thing in politics.”
 
“It’s the people who will decide in the end,” he said.
 
Aside from Emano, among those who filed their COCs were Vice Mayor Caesar Ian Acenas who is seeking reelection, Councilor Ian Mark Nacaya who is eyeing a seat in the city’s second district and incumbent congressman Jose Benjamin Benaldo who is seeking reelection as representative for the first district.
 
The candidates for councilors for the first district are Councilor Annie Daba; Alden Bacal; Atty. Gil Banaag, Councilor Jose Pepe Abbu; Councilor Adrian Barba; Councilor Dante Pajo; Atty. Maryanne Chavez Enteria and Edna Dahino while for the second district, the candidates are Councilors Nadya Emano-Elipe, President Elipe, Ramon Tabor, Alexander Dacer, Emmanuel Abejuela and Juan Sia, Atty. Leon Du M. Gan and Placido P. Floirendo.
 
Meanwhile, Emano’s son Yevgeny Vincente, representative of Misamis Oriental’s second district, also filed his COC as governor of the province on Friday at the provincial Comelec office.
 
The younger Emano, who is running under the Nacionalista Party, led the filing of COCs along with his runningmate, Jose Mari G. Pelaez, and their candidates for Provincial Board and the province’s two congressional districts.
 
However, Pelaez is reportedly running under Binay’s UNA party.
 
The NP’s congressional candidates are Gonaldas Motoomull Jr. for the first district and former congressman Augusto H. Baculio for the second district.
 
For the SP’s first district, the candidates are Dr. Reynaldo S. Moreno, Melchor M. Cubillo, Jimmy G. Ocampo and Roldan Lagbas while for the second district, the candidates are Heckert Hernado Jude Emano, Arrish T. Canonigo, Peter O. Elman, Mercy Grace Acain and Nancy S. Madjos.
 
The younger Emano will be pitting against incumbent Vice Governor Norris Babiera in next year’s gubernatorial elections.
 
Villanueva town Mayor Juliet Uy and former governor Antonio Calingin also filed their CoCs as representatives for the province’s second district as independent candidates while another wannabe, Rommel S. Zagado, also filed his CoC for congressman in the first district under the Partido ng Manggagawa at Magsasaka.