A PLEDGE TO CLEAN, HONEST AND PEACEFUL ELECTIONS

Yesterday, at the Midsayap Municipal Gymnasium, several candidates vying for local positions in North Cotabato gathered to sign a Covenant for Honest and Peaceful elections, an activity initiated by the Commission on Elections.

Before those present, I made a pledge on the things that I will and will not do to contribute to the conduct of an election which will reflect the true will of the people.

Here are the pledges I made:

1. I pledge to abide with and respect all election laws; not to campaign today Holy Thursday and Good Friday and to instruct my supporters to place my campaign materials only in the common poster areas;

2. I pledge to conduct a high-level campaign which will focus on two main issues: a) the character of my political opponent in relation to her conduct as a public official; b) the governance perspective of my political rival and this is related to the projects and programs which she has implemented or she is implementing with the purpose of dissecting whether these programs provide answers to the needs of the people;

3. I pledge not to wage a dirty campaign by attacking the personal life of my political rival, just as I do not want them to involve my wife and children who have always remained in the background throughout my political career.

4. I pledge to present to the electorate a very clear program of governance to help them decide whether I deserve to be elected as Governor of North Cotabato again.

5. I pledge to respect the will of the voters by committing that I will not coerce, threaten or unduly pressure them into voting for me and to respect the dignity of the voters by vowing that I will not influence them into voting for me by giving them money or material things like rice and foodstuff;

6. I pledge not to consider my political opponent as a personal enemy but as a fellow public servant who is offering herself to lift the lives of the poor and the downtrodden;

7. I pledge that after the conduct of a clean, honest, orderly and peaceful elections, where there is no vote buying and cheating, I will accept the results with no bitterness or rancor. If I should win, I will offer my hand in reconciliation; If I should lose in an honest election, I will graciously accept my defeat;

8. But I pledge to those who will support and choose me that should there be any blatant attempt to trample on their sovereign will through a well-organized vote buying and cheating operations, I will fight the forces of evil tooth and nail. This I will do because I believe that the voice of the people is the voice of God.

Vox Populi, Vox Dei.