Now this is a big surprise.
ABS-CBN’s Harapan: The Tandem Presidential Debate has been canceled. The surprising and unexpected reason: several candidates for president and vice president have either backed out or declined to participate.
This is shocking news. Who would have thought that the likes of Senators Noynoy Aquino, Manny Villar and their equally esteemed running mates would find it not worth their while to join a no holds barred debate? Well, to be fair to Villar’s running mate Senator Loren Legarda, her reluctance to participate is understandable considering the beating she got last time.
(excerpts from a newsbreak.com.ph report)
- In a surprise result, Sen. Loren Legarda did poorly in ABS-CBN’s Harapan: The Vice-Presidential Debate, based on feedback from citizens who participated in the debate.
- Legarda failed to get 50% or more in most of feedback from the audience through the WARS. She was asked about her experience in governance, her plans on improving the state of education, as well as on her pet themes, environment and climate change.
- Aside from doing poorly in the WARS, she also did badly in the on-line poll through abs-cbnNEWS.com chat with netizens, http://abs-cbnnews.com/harapan. The poll asked the question: Who is the most believable among the candidates in the Harapan debate?
It’s just too bad the debate scheduled for this Sunday will no longer push through. It would have given us yet another glimpse into what these people are really made of. I would have enjoyed watching Villar deflect questions about the C-5 controversy. And, of course, who would want to miss the Great Yellow Hope in action. I wonder how he would have fared against his cousin former defense secretary Gilbert Teodoro or Senator Richard Gordon.
By the way Teodoro was among those who backed out. He claims he has already saturated forums and debates. Well, at least he wasn’t being a jackass about it not like Villar who gave an excuse that can only be described as pamimilosopo.
(excerpt from an abs-cbnnews.com report)
Villar and Legarda said they already committed to visit their supporters in Bicol on the same date.
Villar added they did not back out because they never confirmed their participation.
Now, to be fair , I should also identify those who were all too willing to attend the debate. In no particular order, the Walang Pakisama (sa mga naduwag) are former Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Perfecto Yasay Jr., evangelist Bro. Eddie Villanueva, former MMDA Chairman Bayani Fernando and Senator Richard Gordon.
The gall of those 4 candidates for trying to re-invent the wheel. Don’t they know most Pinoy voters respond better to song and dance routines than speeches on the economy, population growth and other serious stuff? They should ask Senator Aquino. Better yet they should get lessons from him on the finer points of campaigning without really trying. After that they could also ask him to provide tips on how to cover all the bases.
Oh, I almost forgot. Gordon is now part of that elite group of candidates who think they’re cute. He now has a music video of his own. Before you watch it be sure to prepare yourself to be disappointed because Gordon didn’t really sing or dance on this video.
I’m sure you were also surprised the first time you watched that. I too never imagined Moymoy Palaboy as celebrity political endorsers. But that shouldn’t really surprise anyone anymore. Ater all we’re talking about Pinoy-style elections.
hello
maybe next time around, comelec can host these debates instead of the mainstream media. they then can make said gatherings a must for all wannabes. this way inept and insulting excuses may be avoided; they can even make it illegal for candidates to beg off. could be interesting to see in the future, no? just a thought
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bp Reply:
March 28th, 2010 at 9:29 am
kahlil,
yes, requiring candidates to participate in debates should be standard.
we should realize that we are also to blame for why our candidates behave the way they do.
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Kahlil Reply:
March 29th, 2010 at 6:17 am
well, yeah, that’s true. but someone should get the ball rolling, no? maybe a signed petition to the comelec for some changes the next time around?
another thing that i can think of is for comelec to host an official repository of detailed platforms of candidates. that way, there’s no need to go around in circles all over the net just to look for them. or even better, require each one of them to have a platform in applying for candidacy. maybe this is one way to correct our fault by voicing out what we want out of our candidates.
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bp Reply:
March 29th, 2010 at 9:47 am
kahlil,
you’re suggestions are all worth considering. we, the voters, should really demand for such changes. regarding platforms, you’re spot on. what’s happening now is those of us who care to research about the candidates’ platforms are forced to search all over the net for information. the candidates didn’t even bother to come out with a document detailing all their plans.
the best time to push for the reforms we want is of course long before the next election season. the bar has already been raised a bit this time with the increased awareness about platforms. let’s raise the bar further for the next season.
I kinda liked the Moymoy Palaboy feat. Dick Gordon.
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villar and especially aquino backing out of the forum comes as no surprise. they’re just both scared to be grilled and be exposed by gordon. those who confirmed are the only ones who do not have anything to hide.
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bp Reply:
March 28th, 2010 at 10:34 am
sumi,
yes, not surprising at all.
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Nick Reply:
March 29th, 2010 at 8:06 am
On the money!
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Roxas said he and LP standard-bearer Senator Noynoy Aquino have been looking forward to the tandem debate, just as he was excited about the Vice Presidential debate held at the La Consolacion College grounds last March 21.
“We were ready to go. We know that this Sunday’s debate would benefit the Filipino voters,” he said, adding that the decision of Nacionalista bets Manuel Villar and Loren Legarda, administration bets Gilbert Teodoro and Edu Manzano, and Partido ng Masang Pilipino bets Joseph Estrada and Jejomar Binay have “left (us) with no choice but to opt out of the program.”
“With due respect to Senator Richard Gordon and Bayani Fernando and Bro. Eddie Villanueva and Perfecto Yasay, the tandem debate can no longer be as productive and useful as the organizers and the public wanted in the absence of the other presidential and vice presidential teams,” he also said.
“May we put it on record that we have been consistent in our support for your HARAPAN plans since we received your invitation several weeks back, which we proved with our eager participation in the first of the series, the VP DEBATE last Sunday,” Roxas said.
March 28. 2010
O ayan, kuntento ka na?
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bp Reply:
March 29th, 2010 at 4:40 pm
budoy,
owwwssss. i might believe roxas, but noynoy? not believable at all. he’s avoided debates and fora too many times already. that too me is a pattern.
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