Candidates for the City Council answer questions on current issues Cagayan de Oro is confronted with in a forum that students of Xavier University organized with the support of the local National Citizens Movement for Free Elections (Namfrel) and the Commission Elections (Comelec). (Photo by Pag-ila 2025)
MindanaoToday.com | Forum tests mental fitness of 43 City Council hopefuls
By: Uriel Quilinguing
CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY, Philippines – To make up one’s mind on controversial issues, by raising answer-boards pre-marked YES and NO after five seconds, was a revelation of who the candidates for the City Council are, in a forum on Saturday, March 29, at Xavier University here, according to the National Citizens Movement for Free Elections (Namfrel).
All 43 present, out of the 51 aspirants to 16 City Council seats support mandatory drug tests for all public officials, but most of them opposed the passage of an anti-political dynasty law that would prohibit one from seeking public office just because a family member has already been elected into office.
On proposed death penalty restoration, they were polarized roughly by half, but were unanimous against the proposal to issue firearms to barangay tanod (village peace-keeping unit), except two. They were also divided on same sex marriage, but there were five abstentions.
This outright appraisal of alertness to think (Mo-uyon ka ba?) was a segment of a youth-led voters’ engagement initiative, dubbed as “Pag-ila 2025: Pagpili Alang sa Malamboon Ugma,” on Saturday, March 29, at Xavier University in this city.
Nestor Banuag Jr., chairperson of Namfrel Cagayan de Oro-Misamis Oriental chapter, said those who wish to be in the City Council must have certain level of intellectual competence and innate sense of right and wrong, hence the Mo-uyon ka ba? portion in Pag-ila 2025 was introduced.
Banuag, who heads XU’s Social Involvement and Advocacy Program (SIAP), said there are instances in City Council where its members debate on issues, hence voters must be able to measure up the wannabes during the campaign period that took off on Friday, March 28.
The first segment of the forum was the usual two-minute self-introduction while the third was the “Tubag sa Katawhan” where the candidates had 90 seconds to express their positions on prevailing issues such as traffic congestion, peace and order, flood control, access to health services and education, livelihood, indigenous people, agriculture and fisheries, and on the economy.
The last segment, where all candidates, were given the opportunity to expound on their perspectives on vote-buying, on how the practice could be prevented, thus preserving the integrity of the electoral process.
They filed their certificates of candidacy before the Comelec under eight political parties, except for 12 independents out of the 51 candidates: Centrist Democratic Party (CDP), Lakas Christian Democrats, Nacionalista Party (NP), Nationalist People’s Coalition (NPC), National Unity Party (NUP), Padayon Pilipino, Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban), and Partido Federal ng Pilipinas (PFP).
Organized by the XU Central Student Government, through its Office of the Vice President, the holding of the Pag-ila 2025 initiative is in coordination with the university’s SIAP, Namfrel Cagayan de Oro-Misamis Oriental, and the Commission on Elections (Comelec), in partnership with the Parasat Cable TV, Cagayan de Oro Press Club and various media organizations.
The same voters’ engagement initiatives were conducted in the 2023 Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections, and the 2022 National and Local Elections
Pag-ila forum for candidates for the House of Representatives from both congressional districts is set on April 12, while those in the city mayoralty and vice-mayoralty races is on April 26, both in the afternoon and would also be at the XU Little Theater. These will also be covered live by Parasat Cable TV via its Community Channel 45. (Uriel Quilinguing/MT)
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