His Eminence Ricardo Cardinal Vidal, the Archbishop of the Diocese of Cebu, leads in the signing of the covenant of support for the holding of honest, orderly and peaceful elections on May 10. (PNP-PIO)

CEBU CITY – Philippine National Police (PNP) chief, Director General Jesus Verzosa led thousands of Cebuanos in the Covenant Run for Hope 2010 at dawn Friday as part of the campaign of various civic groups and the PNP for the holding of honest, orderly, and peaceful elections (HOPE) on May 10.

A follow through to a run conducted in January from Camp Crame to Camp Aguinaldo with more than 2,000 participants, the Covenant Run for HOPE 2010 in Cebu was also attended by officials and employees of the Commission on Elections (Comelec), the Armed Forces of the Philippines Central Command, Integrated Bar of the Philippines Cebu City Chapter, and the religious sector led by Dilaab Foundation.

Government employees and other sectors also joined in the covenant run, which carried the theme “Dagan Alang sa Matinud-anon, Hapsay og Malinawon nga Piniliay 2010.” The event gathered more than 3,000 participants coming from four different assembly points.

Police Regional Office (PRO) 7 Director Lani-O Nerez said the purpose of the run was to raise public awareness on the need to hold peaceful and orderly elections, especially in the Visayas.

Verzosa led the 1,600-strong police and military contingents together with Nerez and Central Command chief Lt. Gen. Ralph Villanueva. Some 1,500 participants from the Catholic Church and other religious organizations supporting the HOPE campaign also joined in the run.

The run ended at the Archbishop Palace where Cebu Archbishop Ricardo Cardinal Vidal, Verzosa, and Comelec Regional Director Rey Rene Buac urged participants and the voting pubic in general to protect their votes and stay vigilant against any acts of sowing violence or cheating during the May 10 elections.

Vidal urged voters to live up to the tenets of the faith and reject earthly things such as “greed for power and lack of service to God.”

He also reiterated the Catholic Church's call on its faithful to reject measures that aim “to stop physical sickness” but “can destroy the body and soul since it is against the teachings of the Church.”

This was in reference to the government's program to distribute condoms.

The Comelec-7, PNP-7 and election watchdogs Cebu-Citizens Involvement and Maturation for People's Empowerment and Liberation and the Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting are still meeting with political candidates and parties to possibly come up with peace covenants to ensure that the objectives of the campaign are met.

Comelec-7 Regional Election Attorney Enerio Ocariza said peaceful elections could be achieved if candidates commit themselves to a peace covenant in their respective areas to ensure a violence-free campaign period.

Police and military personnel in Central Visayas, meanwhile, will have an early voting schedule set on April 24 to 26 as they will be deployed during the elections.

Central Command Spokesperson Maj. Wilson Feria said they have now sent their request to Comelec-7 for the specified date to conduct the poll automation at Central Command Headquarters.

"All soldiers have been informed on the scheduled date so they can exercise their right to vote," Feria said.