ASPIRING candidates from Cebu City and some individuals attended the peace covenant signing organized by the Cebu City Police Office (CCPO) Monday, February 18.
The peace covenant aims to ensure that the elections in the city on May 13 will be peaceful and orderly.
Though Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña, who is running for reelection under Bando Osmeña Pundok Kauswagan (BOPK), was not present during the peace covenant signing, his allies explained that his absence was due to a prior engagement he had with House Speaker Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.
Aside from Osmeña, also absent during the activity is former Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama, who is running for vice mayor under Partido Barug.
Senior Superintendent Royina Garma, CCPO director, thanked all the aspiring candidates who participated in the peace covenant as the activity aims to promote peace and safety for all those participating, whether politicians or voters, during the May 2019 elections.
Cebu City Councilor Mary Ann Delos Santos, who will be running for vice mayor under BOPK, committed to support the peace covenant signing as she also wishes to see a peace and orderly elections in the city on May.
De los Santos said she is not worried that the election-related violence being felt in some parts of Cebu will spill out in Cebu City since the city is known to be peaceful during election time.
“In behalf on Mayor Tommy Osmeña and the BOPK party we are committed to support a clean, peaceful orderly and honest election, that’s the very reason why we are here because we are supporting the covenant signing,” Delos Santos said.
Police and election officials have placed Cebu City under the Orange alert category, in which intense political rivalry is felt.
But Garma assured that the Police Regional Office (PRO)-Central Visayas might lower the alert level category as the elections draws near.
Though not all aspiring candidates participated in the peace covenant signing, Garma still considered it as successful since there at least 60 percent answered to their invitation.
“I hope that what they are signing in the peace covenant is not just an ordinary signature, but a commitment that they will abide to observe a peaceful, orderly and honest election,” Garma added.
Separately, PRO-Central Visayas director Chief Superintendent Debold Sinas urged other city and provincial police office directors and their subordinates to initiate their own peace covenants with their aspiring candidates. (AYB of Superbalita Cebu/JKV)