4 senate bets say honesty is important

CEBU, Philippines — Four senatorial candidates believe that honesty, in all aspect, is very important as an individual trait and in governance.

Magdalo Partylist Representative Gary Alejano of Otso Diresto party and Evangeline Abejo, Conrado Generoso and Richard Alfajora ll from the Katipunan ng Kamalayang Kayumanggi (KKK) were the invited guests in the Mega Cebu’s "Klarohay Ta!, a  series of fora presenting national and local candidates running in the May 2019 elections, which kicked off yesterday.

Alejano said that honesty is a requirement and demanded by the people. Candidates or public officials should strive for honesty in government.

Generoso, Alfajora and Abejo also think that honesty is still the best policy and essential in public service.

"Importante gyud ang honesty bisan sa usa ka relasyon aron naay forever," said Alfajora whose answer draws laughters among the audience. (Honesty is important even in a relationship who we can have our forever.)

Earlier, Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte drew criticisms when she said that senatorial candidate Imee Marcos' false claims about her academic records should not be an issue because "everyone lies anyway."

She said that every candidate lies and that honesty should not be an issue.

Candidates from the Otso Diretso opposition slate have also criticized Marcos for claiming that she graduated with honors from the University of the Philippines College of Law and she obtained a degree from Princeton University. Her claims were refuted by the two schools.

The forum will run until April 29 at the University of San Carlos – Downtown Campus in Cebu City.

The forum, according to its Facebook page, is non-partisan and multi-sectoral and the only Comelec-sponsored candidates’ forum in Cebu.

Mega Cebu is a program spearheaded by the Metro Cebu Development and Coordinating Board that envisions a Wholesome, Advanced, Vibrant, Equitable, Sustainable (W.A.V.E.S.) Cebu in 2050.

The four senatoriables expressed their views on topics raised by the hosts and representatives from different youth, urban poor, labor sector, students, transport sector, among others.

Among the topics discussed were the war on drugs of the present administration, releasing of the narco politics list, federalism, China workers, same sex marriage, youth agenda, medical use of marijuana, among others.

The three KKK senatorial bets believe that one does not need to have much money to launch a senatorial campaign.  They rely on their various volunteers all over the country as well as by using social media.

They believe that the Senate now needs new faces and those who have the platform that help address the current problems besetting the country and the Filipino people like traffic, unemployment and poverty.

The forum was co-organized by RAFI, USC, COMELEC, CENVISNET, MyTV, and 888 Forum. (FREEMAN)