Saying that elections
must not be based on sheer popularity, Senate President Franklin M. Drilon
urged the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to push through its plan to conduct
presidential debates next year “in order for the voters to know the candidates well
and their stand on the most pressing issues being faced by the country.”
“The planned debates
to be hosted by the Comelec for contenders in the 2016 national elections must
push through and must have the active participation of candidates,
the media and the public,” Drilon
said.
“I fully endorse that
and I will be totally disappointed if that doesn’t push through,” he added.
He said that the
presidential and vice-presidential debates will give the voters throughout the
country an important mechanism to know where the candidates stand on critical
issues, such as on the fight against corruption, poverty alleviation, ending
political dynasties, labor and job generation, and tax reform.
Drilon, a
re-electionist senatorial candidate in 2016, also raised the possibility of
Comelec-hosted debates for senatorial and even local elections throughout the
country.
“There should be
always that type of presentation of a candidate’s platforms and ideas to the
public, so everyone will not just talking about the popularity and appeal of
candidates,” he stressed.
He said that the
media will play an important part in bringing the debates to every Filipino
home, and asked national and local media outlets to give priority to the airing
of the debates.
”If possible, let’s
give these debates a primetime slot, so every Filipino could watch and see for
themselves who these candidates really are,” he said.
Drilon said that it would be better
for next year’s presidential and vice-presidential bets to actively engage in
the planned debates, to prove to the public that they are really
reform-oriented leaders.
“Election is not about popularity. It
takes more than sheer popularity to effect positive changes in the lives of
Filipinos especially the poor,” he added.
“This only happens once every
six years, when we choose our leaders. This is only time that we can choose
them, and we should pick them based on what their stand on issues and platforms
are, not based on their popularity,” Drilon said.
According to the Comelec, the series
of debates will be held from Feb 21, 2016 to March 20, 2016, throughout
different locations each in Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao. The last
Comelec-sponsored presidential debate was held during the 1992 elections. ###
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