MANILA, Philippines - Former President Joseph Estrada and his opponent in the May elections, Manila Mayor Alfredo Lim, signed a peace covenant yesterday at the Manila Police District (MPD) headquarters.
The event was attended by Commission on Elections (Comelec) Chairman Sixto Brillantes, Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting (PPCRV) chairperson Henrietta de Villa and MPD director Chief Superintendent Alejandro Gutierrez.
Estrada and Lim’s respective runningmates, Isko Moreno and Lou Veloso, also signed the peace covenant along with their candidates for councilor.
Estrada and Lim shook hands after signing the peace pact.
Brillantes said the peace covenant is a sign that Estrada and Lim want the elections in Manila to be clean, orderly and peaceful.
The campaign period for local elections will start on March 29, he said.
Meanwhile, Senior Superintendent Ferdinand Quirante told The STAR that they will pursue the charges they filed against four Manila councilors in connection with a confrontation in Paco last Feb. 6.
The councilors were Raymundo Yupangco, Richard Ibay, Cristina Isip and Rafael Borromeo.
The four councilors, on the other hand, charged Quirante and Gutierrez with robbery, intimidation, grave coercion and physical injuries.
Erap: Make poll fraud a heinous crime
Estrada, for his part, yesterday reiterated his call to make election fraud a heinous crime.
“Walang nakukulong sa electoral fraud. (No one is jailed for electoral fraud). That’s why some candidates cheat, because no one is sentenced to imprisonment. Since time immemorial, there has been cheating in the elections so we must enact a law making electoral fraud a heinous crime,†he said.
A new law already makes electoral sabotage a criminal offense punishable with several years up to life in prison.
The former President said that he was cheated when he first ran as mayor of San Juan in 1967.
His opponent, Dr. Barulio “Boyong†Sto. Domingo, was wrongfully proclaimed mayor of San Juan.
Estrada filed a poll protest and was eventually declared as the duly elected mayor the following year.
He added that his best friend, the late Fernando Poe Jr., was also a victim of poll fraud. – Sandy Araneta, Rey Galupo