Tuesday, May 01, 2007 Zambo candidates' forum focuses on peace, ecology By Bong Garcia
A LOCAL civil society group known as the Inter-Religious Solidarity Movement for Peace is staging a round-table forum for local candidates on Thursday in Zamboanga City.
IRSMP lead convener Fr. Angel Calvo said the forum would focus on public issues relevant to the group's peace-building advocacy and serve as a voter's education exercise in relation to the May 14 elections.
Calvo said the half-day forum, which will start at 1:30 p.m. and will end at 5:00 p.m., will center on two main issues: peace-building/making or peace and security, and ecology and natural resources.
"We would like to hear our local candidates' views and programs if ever they will be elected or reelected," he said.
He said that the invited guests are limited only to candidates running for congressional and mayoralty seats.
There are two five candidates vying for the two congressional seats of this city.
Calvo said each candidate will be given two minutes to give an initial statement.
They will also have the chance to speak more in response to questions during the open forum, which will be attended by IRMSP members, special guests and media, according to Calvo.
IRMSP is a loose movement made up of Muslim, Protestant and Roman Catholic religious leaders and lay people who regularly meet to discuss current public issues to foster a culture of dialogue and peace.
It also implements small community development projects to promote inter-faith bonding.
"We hope that with this forum, we can learn about our candidates' plans and platforms," said Jaafar Kimpa and Rev. Ronald Bilang, both conveners of Islam and Evangelicals, respectively.
