Escalante bets vow
not to use violence
BY GILBERT BAYORAN

ESCALANTE CITY – The two controversial mayoral candidates in northern Negros signed a peace covenant Saturday at the Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Church here, where they pledged not to use violence, employ armed groups and maintain an arsenal of weapons for partisan purposes in the May 10 elections.

The signing of the peace covenant that was done inside the Church and facilitated by the Diocese of San Carlos was described by some as “historic”. It was attended by Bishop Jose Advincula Jr., several priests, peace advocates and about a thousand of supporters of Escalante mayoral candidates Melecio Yap Jr. and Santiago Barcelona Jr.

Yap, who is the incumbent mayor, and Barcelona who won as vice-mayor in the May 2007 elections, also pledged to keep the 2010 election free of mudslinging, character assassination, baseless and unfounded accusations and other degrading election campaign tactics as practiced in the past.

A sugar industry leader yesterday said members of the Philippine Sugar Alliance will oppose the planned government importation of sugar and will sue those responsible for carrying it out.

Manuel Lamata, president of the United Sugar Producers Federation of the Philippines, said the government does not need to import sugar at this time because the industry is at the peak of the milling season.

“We have sugar flowing out of the bodegas of every mill in the country,” he said.

Two congressional candidates of the third district of Negros Occidental and a mayoralty bet of Murcia yesterday said they are seeking the dismissal of disqualification petitions filed against them by persons who have admitted that they did not even know what were in the documents submitted to the Commission on Elections in their names.

Provincial Elections Supervisor Jessie Suarez Friday served summons on congressional candidates Albee Benitez and Esteban Coscolluela, and mayoralty candidate Judith Coscolluela for them to submit their replies to the petitions for their disqualification, and attend hearings set at the Comelec Office in Manila on Jan. 11.

“I’m 100 percent sure the case against us will be dismissed. This case is clearly harassment anyway,” Coscolluela said of the petitions against him and his wife.