Presidential bets urged: Forge covenant for clean, honest polls

MANILA, Philippines - Quezon City Rep. Winston Castelo urged yesterday presidential candidates to enter into a covenant to hold an orderly electoral campaign and subscribe to clean, honest, and peaceful elections in 2016.

“We have to assure our people of clean, honest and orderly elections and the best way to do it is to get the commitment of all serious presidential candidates in a political covenant,” he said.

Presidential candidates and their political handlers must meet and draft a covenant ensuring an orderly 90-day political campaign period without the use of “guns, goons, and gold,” the chairman of the House of Representatives committee on Metro Manila development said in a statement.

 “They will have to sign the political covenant to ascertain their commitment to its provisions,” he said.

A pact requiring candidates to make the personal commitment to pursue an orderly campaign, and clean and peaceful elections is necessary as election laws might not ensure it, Castelo said.