Lights out for Guingona’s ‘Lights for Peace’ launch

CABARROGUIS, Quirino — What was supposed to be the grand launching of Vice President Teofisto Guingona’s Lights for Peace and Nationalism Movement (LPNM) at the provincial capitol’s gym here last Friday turned out to be a lights-out occasion.

The culprit: a sudden thunderstorm that struck one of the main lines of the Quirino Electric Cooperative and caused a province-wide power outage.

Quirino Vice Gov. Dakila Cua, the event’s lead organizer, decided to cancel the ceremony, which took them one month to prepare, and instructed the attendees to go home instead.

An estimated 5,000 high school and elementary students turned up for the aborted launch.

At 2 p.m., some students were already lined up along the highway going to the gym to greet Guingona. However, the Vice President arrived three hours late.

In a hastily called press conference at Rep. Junie Cua’s residence, Guingona said the movement would light the nationalistic spirit of the Filipino youth despite the event’s cancellation.

The Movement for Peace and Nationalism aims to re-awaken the spirit of the Filipino youth to fight graft and corruption in the government, illegal drugs, terrorism and other social ills that have contributed to the deterioration of the environment and the degradation of the nation, he said.

"Today is the beginning of a movement aimed at consolidating the nationalistic spirit of the youth toward a good, honest and pro-Filipino government which promotes foremost the interest of the Filipino people and the Filipino nation," Guingona said.