ALL four mayoralty bets in Cagayan de Oro faced off in a radio debate through dxIF Bombo Radyo, though incumbent City Mayor Oscar Moreno and Pompee La Viña got most of the spotlight.
Giving his opening statement, La Viña did not hold back and gave a subtle hit to Moreno, saying his priority is "zero corruption.”
"Si Mayor Moreno naay 100 kapin ka kaso, naa sa Comelec, Supreme Court, Ombudsman, Sandiganbayan, ug uban pa. Sa usa ka kandidato dapat ang honesty and integrity ang pinaka-importante," he said.
Moreno meanwhile responded tagging La Viña as an expert in "fake news" and "black propaganda", and enumerating the former's cases too when he was still with the Social Security System (SSS).
While admitting he is facing these cases, Moreno said all of them were "political persecution".
As the debate heated up, both La Viña and Ben Contreras hurled brickbats against Moreno, while Contreras' fellow independent candidate Felix Borres just listened and rarely participated.
La Viña also vowed to make up for this administration's inefficiency such as creating a City University, fast and free internet connection, more job opportunities, a fast train, a zero target of the housing backlog, and bring back the Night Market which Moreno stopped when he took over as mayor in 2013.
Moreno meanwhile reiterated the achievements under his administration, such as having more schools and more governance awards, among others.
"Cagayan de Oro is much better now, we have many recognitions and awards, and we will continue this momentum," he said.
Moreno also vowed to continue his PRIMEHAT agenda: Poverty alleviation, peace and order, Revenue generation, Infrastructure and investments, Metropolization. Education and environment protection, Health and hospital services, Agricultural productivity and Teamwork and tourism.
Contreras for his part wants to fix the city, saying from Mayor Justiniano Borja's time until now, the city is experiencing deterioration because of corruption.
Borres meanwhile said he only wants to help solve flooding and traffic, and vowed to ban trucks and buses in the city proper, saying he will instead build terminals in barangay Bugo for the eastern part and a terminal in Opol or Bulua to cater the western part of the city.