CEBU City Emergency Operations Center (EOC) deputy chief implementer and reelectionist City Councilor Joel Garganera reminded his fellow aspirants in the May 2022 elections and their supporters to not abandon minimum health protocols in their election-related activities.
“To all candidates who filed their COC (certificate of candidacy), I would just like to remind all of us—candidates, supporters and voters alike—that we have a common enemy. Let us not lose sight that we are still in the midst of this pandemic; let us never lower our guard,” Garganera said in a Facebook post on Saturday, Oct. 9, 2021.
Garganera, who is also seeking a fresh term in the City Council, urged his fellow aspirants to be the “models” that their constituents could emulate.
“We will prove to the world that political exercise will never be a cause of virus transmission,” he said.
It can be recalled that the Cebu City EOC issued a show cause order to Barug PDP-Laban and the management of Casino Español de Cebu, the venue used by the party for its launching and presentation of candidates for the May 2022 local elections last Tuesday, Oct. 5.
The issuance of the show cause order stemmed from the complaints of netizens over the crowd gathering in the venue, Garganera said in an interview.
Garganera, a member of the party, did not attend the presentation of candidates because of his tasks in the EOC.
Cebu City Acting Mayor and Barug PDP-Laban standard bearer Michael Rama apologized for the event.
Crowd at filing
Barug PDP-Laban also brought a crowd of supporters outside the Commission on Elections’ (Comelec) Cebu City office’s perimeter during the last day of the filing of the certificate of candidacy last Oct. 8.
However, the supporters with placards showing support for their candidates were unable to get past the barriers placed by the local police authorities and the Comelec personnel who were also manning the area. (WBS)