No-holds-barred forum
(Excerpts)
February 09, 2010 01:30:00
Juliet Labog-Javellana
Philippine Daily Inquirer
MANILA, Philippines-Like the Filipino delicacy balut, the first Philippine Daily Inquirer presidential debate was not for the faint-hearted.
Pointed and witty queries ranging from the price of “galunggong” and salted eggs to Charter change and the budget deficit, sharp brickbats and a lively audience marked the event at the jampacked University of the Philippines Theater in Diliman, Quezon City Monday.
Senators Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III, Richard “Dick” Gordon, Ana Consuelo “Jamby” Madrigal and Manny Villar, Councilor JC de los Reyes, environmentalist Nicanor “Nicky” Perlas, ex-Defense Secretary Gilbert “Gibo” Teodoro and evangelist Bro. Eddie Villanueva faced a tough grilling by nine panelists, who also read questions from Inquirer readers, and several members of the audience.
The forum lasted more than two hours and was aired live by dzBB, the AM radio station of GMA 7, which is the Inquirer’s election coverage partner.
Madrigal stole the show by sniping at Villar at every opportunity, blasting him for his extensive advertisements to his group’s boycott of the Senate’s last session day when senators were supposed to vote on the recommendation to censure him for the C-5 controversy.
Madrigal was on a roll when she seemingly flunked the test on how much a kilo of galunggong and salted eggs cost.
Villar, at the receiving end of brickbats from Madrigal and Gordon, lashed back when he emphatically declared he was spending his own money. He suggested that people might be voting for the anonymous backers of his rivals who depended on campaign contributions.
Crowd favorites
From the applause, the crowd favorites were Aquino, Gordon, Teodoro, Villar and Madrigal.
The candidates were allowed to have 20 supporters in the theater to applaud them.
The candidates fielded questions from nine panelists: Inquirer columnists Raul Pangalangan, Fr. Joaquin Bernas SJ and senior reporter Fe Zamora on law and politics; columnists Rina Jimenez-David and Michael Tan and Inquirer youth section editor Pam Pastor on social issues; and columnist Cielito Habito, Inquirer opinion editor Jorge Aruta and Inquirer business editor Raul Marcelo on economic issues.
In addition, there were questions from the floor by Katribu party-list’s Beverly Longid, dean Roland Tolentino of the UP College of Mass Communications, Peter Perfecto of Philippine Business for Education, UP student Franz de la Fuente, Gil Salazar of Philippine Business for Social Progress, Sylvia Claudio of Watch Out When Women Vote, Makati Business Club’s Alberto Lim, Reuters reporter Manny Mogato and Wallace.
Pangalangan opened the debate by asking Aquino about his statement that he would not recognize a Chief Justice appointed by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.
The other questions included how to address the restiveness in the military, corruption in the Bureau of Customs, political dynasty, private armies, arming the media, the separation of Church and state, the Asean charter, mining, how to solve the peace and poverty problem in Mindanao, the division of congressional districts, the environment, the elderly, education, urban housing, divorce and sex education, the Internal Revenue Allotment of local governments, the pork barrel, the Arroyo administration’s stimulus package, debt payments, even the Sangguniang Kabataan and of course poverty.
February 09, 2010 01:30:00
Juliet Labog-Javellana
Philippine Daily Inquirer
MANILA, Philippines-Like the Filipino delicacy balut, the first Philippine Daily Inquirer presidential debate was not for the faint-hearted.
Pointed and witty queries ranging from the price of “galunggong” and salted eggs to Charter change and the budget deficit, sharp brickbats and a lively audience marked the event at the jampacked University of the Philippines Theater in Diliman, Quezon City Monday.
Senators Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III, Richard “Dick” Gordon, Ana Consuelo “Jamby” Madrigal and Manny Villar, Councilor JC de los Reyes, environmentalist Nicanor “Nicky” Perlas, ex-Defense Secretary Gilbert “Gibo” Teodoro and evangelist Bro. Eddie Villanueva faced a tough grilling by nine panelists, who also read questions from Inquirer readers, and several members of the audience.
The forum lasted more than two hours and was aired live by dzBB, the AM radio station of GMA 7, which is the Inquirer’s election coverage partner.
Madrigal stole the show by sniping at Villar at every opportunity, blasting him for his extensive advertisements to his group’s boycott of the Senate’s last session day when senators were supposed to vote on the recommendation to censure him for the C-5 controversy.
Madrigal was on a roll when she seemingly flunked the test on how much a kilo of galunggong and salted eggs cost.
Villar, at the receiving end of brickbats from Madrigal and Gordon, lashed back when he emphatically declared he was spending his own money. He suggested that people might be voting for the anonymous backers of his rivals who depended on campaign contributions.
Crowd favorites
From the applause, the crowd favorites were Aquino, Gordon, Teodoro, Villar and Madrigal.
The candidates were allowed to have 20 supporters in the theater to applaud them.
The candidates fielded questions from nine panelists: Inquirer columnists Raul Pangalangan, Fr. Joaquin Bernas SJ and senior reporter Fe Zamora on law and politics; columnists Rina Jimenez-David and Michael Tan and Inquirer youth section editor Pam Pastor on social issues; and columnist Cielito Habito, Inquirer opinion editor Jorge Aruta and Inquirer business editor Raul Marcelo on economic issues.
In addition, there were questions from the floor by Katribu party-list’s Beverly Longid, dean Roland Tolentino of the UP College of Mass Communications, Peter Perfecto of Philippine Business for Education, UP student Franz de la Fuente, Gil Salazar of Philippine Business for Social Progress, Sylvia Claudio of Watch Out When Women Vote, Makati Business Club’s Alberto Lim, Reuters reporter Manny Mogato and Wallace.
Pangalangan opened the debate by asking Aquino about his statement that he would not recognize a Chief Justice appointed by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.
The other questions included how to address the restiveness in the military, corruption in the Bureau of Customs, political dynasty, private armies, arming the media, the separation of Church and state, the Asean charter, mining, how to solve the peace and poverty problem in Mindanao, the division of congressional districts, the environment, the elderly, education, urban housing, divorce and sex education, the Internal Revenue Allotment of local governments, the pork barrel, the Arroyo administration’s stimulus package, debt payments, even the Sangguniang Kabataan and of course poverty.