Masbate Leaders Forge Peace Covenant

MASBATE CITY, March 10  - Candidates vying for local elective positions and leaders of contending political parties in Masbate vowed to shun violence and vicious political rivalry as they forged a covenant of peace for honest and credible national elections in May.

The signing of the peace covenant was the highlight of a multi-sectoral mobilization of civil society organizations in Masbate on Tuesday dubbed "A Walk for MY HOME" (Masbate Yearning for Honest, Orderly and Meaningful Election).

Some 4,00 participants representing sectoral organizations, the Philippine National Police (PNP), the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), government institutions, clergy, youth, and non-government organizations converged at the Magallanes Coliseum in Masbate City for the signing of the historic peace covenant among political leaders in this island province.

In a rare occasion, stalwarts from contending political parties in Masbate gathered to forge an agreement to denounce violence and commit themselves to promote advocacy and support all efforts for the holding of honest, orderly and peaceful elections in May 2010.

Signatories to the Peace Covenant include Rep. Rizalina S. Lanete of the 3rd district and candidate for governor; Vince Revil, re-electionist candidate for vice-governor; retired Army general Darius M. Tuason, 2nd District Representative candidate; Mabel Bartolabac, candidate for mayor of Masbate City; and 18 other political leaders vying for various elective positions in the provincial and municipal local government units.

Police Director Andres G. Caro II, PNP Director for Operations who witnessed the signing of the PEACE Covenant as representative of PNP Chief Director General Jesus A. Verzosa, said the PNP leadership welcomes this gesture of peace by the political leaders of Masbate to once and for all eliminate violence from the political landscape of the island province.

The PNP had listed Masbate among nine provinces considered as election areas of concern (EAC) due to the presence of threat groups, its history of election-related violent incidents in previous elections, and activities of partisan armed groups.

The communist New People's Army has been reported to have established three Guerrilla Fronts in Masbate with 93 active members armed with an estimated 113 firearms.

The presence of the CPP/NPA has added another dimension to the volatile situation in Masbate with some insurgents allegedly being utilized as hired goons by local politicians.

A sizable contingent of police commandos from the elite Special Action Force is deployed in Masbate alongside tactical units from the Regional and Provincial Mobile Groups and AFP Units that compose the Joint Special Task Force Masbate that is the lead unit in operations against communist insurgents, criminal elements and partisan armed groups in the province. (PNA)

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