Cavite bets shun PNP-led peace covenant signing

MANILA, Philippines - Political candidates in Cavite will not participate in the signing today of a peace covenant initiated by the Philippine National Police (PNP) leadership, which they said has lost moral and legal authority for ignoring two court orders preventing the assumption of a new provincial police director.

In a manifesto published in The STAR, 37 candidates for governor, vice governor, congressmen and mayors in Cavite said they could not agree with the PNP officials on the peace covenant.

“We undersigned officials and candidates in the province of Cavite, hereby manifest our strong dissent to the proposed peace covenant scheduled (today) in the Imus headquarters of the PNP,” stated the manifesto, whose signatories were led by gubernatorial bet Dencito Campaña.

The 37 signatories, including incumbent Cavite Gov. Erineo Maliksi, who is seeking a congressional seat, said that while they “view with utmost respect” the position of the Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting and the Diocese of Imus on the peace covenant, “we cannot, in or conscience, participate given the initiative of the PNP Cavite in this exercise.”

Aside from Maliksi and Campaña, vice gubernatorial bet Recto Cantibuhan and congressional aspirants Joseph Abaya, Plaridel Abaya, Roy Loyola, Hermogenes Arayata Jr., and Laureano Mendoza also signed the manifesto.

They were joined by 11 candidates for board members and 18 mayoralty bets.

Last Jan. 8, the manifesto said Judge Norberto Quisumbing of the Imus Regional Trial Court Branch 21 issued a 72-hour temporary order restraining against the replacement of Senior Superintendent Alfredo Sotto Corpus by Senior Superintendent Primitivo Tabujara as Cavite police director.

But the PNP hierarchy, it said, defied this order and proceeded to install Tabujara.

Subsequently, on Jan. 19, Judge Perla Faller of the Imus RTC Branch 90 issued a status quo ante order similarly stopping Corpus’ replacement by Tabujara.

“The PNP again coldly defied this order. Tabujara is now the PNP provincial director of Cavite against the orders of the court,” the manifesto stated.