Church leads march for peaceful polls in Dagupan

DAGUPAN CITY—The Catholic Church on Friday led a march around this city’s business district to call for peaceful and orderly elections on May 9.

“We continue to pray for clean, honest, accurate, meaningful and peaceful elections. That’s why in all Masses, we have prayer after communion, the voters’ prayer,” said Fr. Enrique Macaraeg, vicar general of the Lingayen-Dagupan archdiocese here.

Some 1,500 students, police officers, election officials and church leaders joined the march. The participants later affixed their hand prints to a pledge of commitment for a peaceful elections.

Congressional candidates Christopher de Venecia (fourth district) and former Rep. Eric Acuña (third district) and unopposed reelectionist Mayor Belen Fernandez and her campaign team joined the march.

Message

Fr. Allen Romero, coordinator of the Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting (PPCRV), said while the church does not get involved in politics, the program was “a simple way for us to send our message for the need for clean, honest, accountable, meaningful and peaceful elections.”

Senior Supt. Allan Okubo, Pangasinan police director, said 720 policemen from the police regional and national offices would be sent to Pangasinan province while Army soldiers had been deployed in at least 20 towns and cities in election watch list areas.

“Our quick response teams are now guarding our hubs (in the cities of Dagupan, Urdaneta and Alaminos), where election paraphernalia have been stored,” Okubo said.

He said Pangasinan was included in the country’s nine election watch list areas (EWA) because of intense political rivalry and election-related incidents in the past elections.

The gubernatorial race is between outgoing Gov. Amado Espino Jr.’ son, Amado Espino III, and former Rep. Mark Cojuangco.

The elder Espino is running against Cojuangco’s wife, reelectionist Rep. Kimi Cojuangco, in the province’s fifth district.

Benguet

In Benguet province on Friday, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) delivered the official ballots for Benguet and Baguio City to the provincial capitol in La Trinidad town.

The ballots were expected on April 28 but delivery was delayed due to the long line of shippers fetching their deliveries from the Comelec hub in Marikina and the rains on Friday that made the climb to Baguio “very slippery,” said Benguet election supervisor Ricardo Lampac.

The vote counting machines serving Baguio and Benguet had been sent earlier to the Comelec regional hub in Baguio. Ballots meant for Benguet towns of Mankayan, Buguias, Kibungan and Bakun were expected to arrive on Friday night. Gabriel Cardinoza, Yolanda Sotelo and Kimberlie Quitasol, Inquirer Northern Luzon