DANCING, a boodle fight, and meet-and-greets were the order of the day as candidates seeking local elective positions in the May elections kicked off the first day of the 45-day campaign period to woo votes.In Cebu City, administration party Team Barug- PDP Laban started its campaign with a parade in the downtown area, after which Mayor Michael Rama and his running mate, Councilor Raymond Alvin Garcia, led Team Barug in attending the 7 a.m. mass at the Cebu Metropolitan Cathedral.The party’s north and south district congressional and councilorial candidates were present along with Marino Partylist candidate Collin Rosell.Rama and his slate kicked off their campaign sortie at the cathedral, where a large crowd of supporters gathered outside and cheered as the slate was introduced.After the mass, Rama said he hoped for a peaceful and safe campaign.”Let us follow the rules and the law and let God do the rest,” he said.After the meet-and-greet, the supporters had a parade to the City Hall and then went to Barangay Ermita for a boodle fight organized by Ian Hassamal, whom Rama had appointed barangay affairs head last December.Rama chose City Hall and Barangay Ermita as the venues for their opening salvo and boodle fight, saying he had been doing this even when he was still a member of the other party, referring to the BOPK.Rama said that aside from tradition, it was also to give meaning to the traders and vendors and this was more or less the center of the city.“We are bringing Partido Barug, Team Rama and Marino Partylist at the center,” he said.The boodle fight was to signify their unity as a team.Rama and Garcia were joined in the boodle fight by some of the candidates running for north district councilor this May: Councilor Joel Garganera, Noel Gonzales Wenceslao, Jaypee Labella, Melvin Legaspi and Maria Pino.Before the boodle fight, Rama and his colleagues danced as Garganera also grooved to the music and showed off his dance moves.Market Administrator Racquel Bohol-Arce told SunStar that she had commanded her Probe team the night before to convert the area into an open space amid strict security.Arce said no one was allowed to enter the venue where the event would take place. When the parking area was emptied in Warwick Barracks, she ordered her men to put disinfectants so it would not smell bad.Carbon police were deployed to watch for possible rallies and commotions at the venue.Opposition partyElsewhere in the city, hundreds of supporters gathered at the thanksgiving mass organized by the Bando Osmeña-Pundok Kauswagan (BOPK) to kick off the first day of their campaign Friday.BOPK mayoralty candidate Margarita “Margot” Osmeña, her running mate Franklyn Ong, and the entire BOPK slate representing the north and south districts of Cebu attended the mass at the Archdiocesan Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Barangay Guadalupe, Cebu City.Osmeña’s husband, former Cebu City mayor Tomas Osmeña was also present.During the mass, Fr. Aloysius “Love” Alojipan gave his blessing to the candidates and wished them a successful campaign.As the mass ended, thousands of BOPK supporters greeted the BOPK candidates with a supportive cheer outside the Archdiocesan Shrine.The party returned to their individual homes right after the mass and did not organize any other activities for the day.For the rest of the campaign period, mayoral candidate Margot said they would do the “regular activities” under the Commission on Elections guidelines.Osmeña said it had always been her practice to go back to her hometown in Guadalupe and visit the Our Lady of Guadalupe to ask for guidance every time she was faced with big situations, such as the elections this May 9.”Because this is my hometown, the our lady, our mother,” she said.Also, in 2016, her husband, Tomas, garnered roughly 32,000 votes in Guadalupe, helping him win the mayor’s seat over Michael Rama.Guadalupe is the city’s most populous barangay with a population of over 61,000 in 2015.For its national candidates, BOPK supports the presidentiable Maria Leonor “Leni” Robredo of the Liberal Party and vice presidentiable Vicente “Tito” Sotto III of the Nationalist People’s Coalition.Osmeña said one of these national candidates might be invited to attend BOPK’s campaign activities.BOPK was founded in 1987 when its chief, Tomas Osmeña, first ran for Cebu City mayor.IndependentOn Friday, Cebu City mayoralty candidate Dave Tumulak, who is running as an independent candidate, named the 16 councilors in the north and south districts that he will include in his group for May 9, 2022.He selected candidates from both Partido Barug and BOPK.In the south district, he included Bea Osmeña, Roberto Cabarrubias, BOPK member Pie Abella, incumbent City Councilors Joy Pesquera and Phillip Zafra and Vice Mayor Donaldo Hontiveros, Rey Gealon, and Francis Esparis of the Barug Party.In the north district, he chose Mary Ann de los Santos, incumbent City Councilors Alvin Dizon, Nestor Archival and Lea Japson of the BOPK, and Edgardo “Jaypee” Labella, incumbent City Councilor Joel Garganera, Dr. Peter Mancao of the Barug Party and Winston Pepito, an independent.For senator, Tumulak has already announced that he supports the candidacy of former Philippine National Police Chief Guillermo Eleazar and former public works secretary Mark Villar.Tumulak appealed to Cebuanos who have remained silent to express their support for him so they could bring more development and effect a change in the administration of City Hall with the people’s voices to be heard.After a thanksgiving mass, Tumulak’s group went to the former Inayawan landfill to visit the residents living in the barangay and assess their needs so that these will be given first attention if he becomes mayor. (GDC, HIC, PAC)