Manila candidates sign peace covenant

Candidates running for local posts in Manila signed a covenant for honest, orderly and peaceful elections (HOPE) at the session hall of the Manila City Hall yesterday.

However, only Vice Mayor Danilo Lacuna, who is one of the 10 mayoral candidates, and Councilor Cita Astals, one of 11 candidates for vice mayor, attended the signing ceremony.

Ali Atienza, son of Mayor Lito Atienza and the mayoral candidate of the LP (Atienza wing), and his running mate Don Bagatsing failed to attend the covenant signing since they were escorting boxing champion Manny Pacquiao on a motorcade around the city yesterday after his arrival from Mexico.

Of the 51 candidates for councilors for the first district of Manila, only 16 were present in the ceremonies.

Those who failed to sign the peace covenant yesterday are expected to affix their signatures to the document at their respective Comelec district offices.

The covenant was voluntarily entered into by the city’s candidates in coordination with the Manila Police District, the Department of Education (DepEd) and the Commission on Elections (Comelec).

The candidates vowed not to corrupt any voter with money, or threaten him with force, violence and intimidation to impair his free will to choose his candidates.

They also pledged to cooperate with the police and the Comelec in order to ensure an honest, orderly, peaceful and credible elections.

For his part, Comelec Commissioner Benjamin Abalos called on the candidates’ supporters to watch the ballot so that the true will of the electorate will prevail.