Professional, intelligent, and unbiased, ‘The Filipino Votes’–is a stark contrast to SMNI’s red flag-stricken Presidential Debate.
The CNN Philippines highly-anticipated Presidential Debate went quite smoothly last night, February 27, even without the presence of perennial absentee Bongbong Marcos. There is palpable tension among candidates, and the personal issues of each candidate arguably drew more attention than their stances on various national issues. There is no indication that this fruitful exercise failed, and if anything, it certainly massively helped the voters to scrutinize each candidate.
The set design is a throwback to the 2016 edition of the debate sans the studio audiences who could either boo or laud the candidates and their answers.
All presidential aspirants (except for the former dictator’s son Bongbong Marcos) graced the event. Broadcast journalists Pia Hontiveros-Pagkalinawan and Pinky Webb were the hosts. The Filipino Votes targeted the candidates’ take on various issues, with both specific and general questions asked to them by the two CNN Philippines anchors.
Having done this kind of debate before, Webb and Hontiveros found ease in keeping the flow smoothly. As moderators, they guided each candidate pretty well, stopped them when they hit the allotted time, but allowed those who were just a few words short of finishing their statements to complete their answers. They were gracious to accommodate the statement exchange among the candidates. They reminded them promptly when they showed a tendency to make detours from the conversation.
Unlike the SMNI-hosted debate, ‘the Filipino Votes’ didn’t have panelists, hence the absence of partisan inquisitors. CNN Philippines’s Presidential debate how Pinky Webb and Pia Hontiveros carried out their moderating job professionally.
General questions are timely and relevant, with each candidate given 90 seconds to answer, while 60 seconds for each candidate’s rebuttal or defense. Much of the heat got initiated by presidential aspirant Jose Montemayor, who admittedly took the chance to introduce himself.
CNN Philippines is the only TV network to hold a debate attended by at least nine presidential candidates. Specific questions were brutally honest and straightforward, ones the candidates may not have expected.
In the end, ‘the Filipino Votes’ erased yet another dim in our resolve to choose the right candidate for this upcoming national polls. It may take a few more of these debates before some can finally decide which one to vote for, while some may finally have shifted from one preferred candidate to another. Overall, CNN Philippines showed how Presidential Debates must be done– in a fair, intelligent, unbiased, and pertinent.
