Espino, Braganza no-show in peace pact signing

DAGUPAN CITY, Philippines – At least 30 candidates in Pangasinan signed a peace covenant on Monday afternoon at the Metropolitan Cathedral of the St. John the Evangelist but the two gubernatorial bets were a no-show.

Re-electionist Gov. Amado Espino Jr. and his lone rival, Alaminos City Mayor Hernani Braganza, failed to attend the signing supposedly due to prior commitments.

Re-electionist sixth district board member Alfonso Bince said the absence of Espino and Braganza in the peace covenant signing lessened its impact.

He said he and the others who signed the covenant also had previous commitments yet they chose to be present in the event. 

Among those in the peace covenant signing were re-electionist Vice Gov. Jose Ferdinand Calimlim, Espino’s running mate, and his opponent, retired Philippine National Police chief Arturo Lomibao, Braganza’s vice gubernatorial bet; re-electionist second district Rep. Leopoldo Bataoil; third district Rep. Ma. Rachel Arenas who was substituted by her mother Rosemarie in the May polls; and re-electionist Dagupan City Mayor Benjamin Lim.

Candidates in the rest of the 44 towns and three cities of Pangasinan were no longer invited, as they had their own peace covenant signing in their respective localities.  

Calimlim said he welcomes this symbolic effort to ensure clean and peaceful midterm elections. He said Espino was attending a PhilHealth card distribution in the sixth district of Pangasinan held simultaneously with the covenant signing. 

Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Socrates Villegas, who presided over the signing, advised the candidates to keep in their heart and put into practice what they signed. 

He said peace comes from God through men and women “who know how to love, who know how to pray, who know how be humble, who know how to repent and who know how to love like Jesus.”

“When men and women allow themselves to become instruments of peace, even the rivers, the mountains, even the forests and the hills, air and the soil will sing a song of peace,” he said.

He urged people that “on election day... let us make sure that the votes are cast, let us make sure that the votes are counted, let us make sure that the votes are canvassed and the right man, the right woman is proclaimed because that is the will of God for us.”

For his part, lawyer Marino Salas, provincial election supervisor, urged police officers and other public servants like him “to leave politics to politicians.”

Chief Superintendent Ricardo Marquez, regional police director, said he is hopeful the peace pact signing will usher in understanding and a culture of peace and the rule of law.

Pangasinan is one of the 15 provinces identified by the Department of the Interior and Local Government as priority areas of concern due to perceived intense political rivalries.