MANILA, Philippines?Some 80 questions were asked in the first-ever Philippine Daily Inquirer Presidential Debate held Monday at the University of the Philippines (UP) Theater in Diliman, Quezon City, but those who came wanted to ask more.

Sen. Benigno ?Noynoy? Aquino III should have been asked about Hacienda Luisita, ?and why he has not done much as a senator,? said C, 54, a businesswoman.

Another, who decided to be anonymous, said: ?Noynoy should have been asked about Hacienda Luisita. Up to now, no forum had personally asked him about this issue.?

But Elizabeth San Diego of Quezon City disagreed. ?I have already read and heard a lot about the case of Hacienda Luisita so I did not want to hear more about it anymore,? she said.

Amer Amor, a professor at UP Baguio, said, ?I expected that someone would ask former Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro about his links to President Arroyo.?

A 20-year-old student leader said he would have wanted to ask Sen. Manuel ?Manny? Villar: ?How much money does a candidate have to spend on political ads??

NBN-ZTE, other issues

?There was no question about NBN/ZTE,? said Noel, 18, a student. ?I wanted to know if the candidates were still for wiring schools and other institutions, with the scrapped contract being so controversial.?

Tino Borja, a physics major, lamented the lack of questions about ?research and development and on science and technology.? He said: ?I would have liked to hear their views, and learn how they will give attention and provide investments for these fields.?
A graduate student, Aisa Manlosa, 24, said she ?did not learn about the candidates? stand on the government?s fight against terrorism, and on the Philippines? alliance with the US in this regard.?

?For the Social Issues panel, discussions were focused primarily on reproductive health,? said Clara Buenconsejo, 19, a student. ?Nothing wrong with that, but I wanted to hear also about agrarian reform and other issues such as education.?

Other issues that attendees wished were raised and tackled during the debate were on political and human rights, particularly for women, the communist insurgency, and labor issues like unemployment and labor contractualization.

More time for responses

Many in the audience wished more time was allotted for the candidates? responses.

?We would like it if the candidate was able to at least finish a statement he had begun instead of being cut halfway through when the microphone was turned off,? a 19-year-old female student said.

A number of attendees were disappointed that deposed President Joseph Estrada did not show up.

?We?re all questioning why he was allowed to run?and why he?s running again in the first place?and I would have liked to hear his reasons and reactions to the criticisms against him,? said Christina, a law student.

Some commented that the forum seemed like an ?elite affair.?

?People?s organizations were conspicuously absent from among those who asked questions on the floor,? Julius Cainglet of the Federation of Free Workers said.

Allen de la Fuente, a UP psychology student, said business organizations were given ?undue importance? in the forum.

Informed choice

But many said the presidential debate was successful in helping them make an informed choice for the coming elections.

?I guess I heard everything that I wanted to hear from the candidates because now I know whom not to vote for. Before I came here I was undecided on two candidates, but now I think I am 99 percent sure whom to vote for,? said a female UP graduate student.
Christina said: ?Some of the candidates that I have completely stricken off my list surprised me with their answers. May potential naman pala sila. You couldn?t really get to know candidates simply through their advertisements.?

The forum even led some voters to change their minds about their first preferences.

Changing their minds

?I was disappointed with Noynoy. I was initially for him, but I saw that when he spoke, he lacked conviction. He gave answers that were too general, and he wasn?t direct to the point. Walang dating. Hindi ka makukumbinsi (No sizzle, he?s not convincing). Gibo was more specific,? said Hilda, 30, a businesswoman.

Grace, 52, a human resources officer, found some candidates? answers too general. ?I was impressed with [Sen. Richard Gordon] and Gibo [Gilbert Teodoro], though, because their answers were specific and you could see that they actually studied the issues raised, and they had concrete plans. From the others you simply heard more of the same: Blah, blah, blah.?

San Diego said she liked the forum very much. ?The questions were varied ? I hope there will be a follow-up.?