Feature: All South Leyte candidates are GK partners
By Bong Pedalino
MAASIN CITY (27 April) -- They are all for Gawad Kalinga (GK). Thus said Provincial Couples for Christ (CFC) GK Coordinator Dr. Jerome Paler as he made it clear that all candidates running for various local positions in the province of Southern Leyte are partners of GK and, as such, if the CFC has to take sides in the present political contest then it has to do so for them all, inasmuch as they have contributed to the GK work.
Paler made the clarification in the wake of insinuations the CFC has sided with one camp for the May 14 elections.
"We honor them for their nobility. We honor them for the passion of their work, and we honor them for the grandeur of their vision," Paler said during a live phone interview over radio station DYDM in the program "Pamahaw Balita" this morning, April 26.
News Anchorman Zaldy Olita had Paler on-air to enlighten and shed light on an upcoming activity, the Candidates' Forum, which is scheduled to be held in the evening of May 1 at the Anatalio Gaviola Public Plaza here.
The activity was initiated by the Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting (PPCFV), with full support from the Saint Thomas Moore and Associates (STMA), a social ministry of CFC deeply involved in socio-political renewal.
Paler explained that the Candidates Forum will have an added special feature, such as "honoring", in which opposing candidates would say something good about his/her political rival.
An output of the activity will be the signing of a peace covenant and signing of "No to Vote-buying/pahalipay" statement, Paler said.
Olita later quizzed Paler on rumors that Church people or religious organizations are taking sides in the political derby.
"We discourage that. We do not engage in partisan politics. But we do encourage them to become active watchdogs and help ensure an honest, orderly, and peaceful elections," Paler stressed. (PIA-Southern Leyte) [top]
