Senatorial candidates invade Diliman via UP Town Hall Series

“Education is a right and not a privilege. Increasing the budget for education is a must for a more developed nation especially with the growing economy. “

This was a common takeaway from all of the four senatorial hopefuls as UP Economics towards Consciousness, in partnership with Solar News TV and Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting (PPCRV) organized the UP Diliman Town Hall: A Senatorial Series held at GT Toyota Auditorium Asian Center on March 18, 2013.

Townhall is a Senatorial Forum that aims to inform representatives from the different public sectors, especially the youth about the senatorial candidates’ platforms and views on important national issues in our country.

The event was attended by four of the most respected senatoriables, namely Bro. Eduardo “Eddie” Villanueva, the founder and leader of the Jesus Is Lord Church and now a standard bearer of the Bangon Pilipinas Party; Rep. Teodoro “Teddy” Casiño, a journalist and currently a member of the House of Representatives for Bayan Muna; Baldomero ‘‘Bal” Falcone from the Democratic Party of the Philippines and is the only one to represent the Visayan speaking people,  and last but not the least, Christian Señeres running under the newly accredited Democratic Party of the Philippines.

To keep the program dynamic, it was divided into several segments as initiated by Ms. Pia Hontiveros, a well-respected newscaster, and Ms. Ana de Villa Singson, PPCRV’s Media and Communications Director, the hosts of the event. The first round was an introduction speech answering why people would vote for them. The candidates were given 90 seconds to answer each question.

Bro. Eddie began with, “”Hindi lamang ekonomista, hindi lang educator, naging evangelist pa).”

On the other hand, Christian Señeres answered, “Kahit bata po, mahaba na rin ang aking experience.. Kami ay anti-epal, anti-dynasty.”

“Kailangan ng boses ng karaniwang tao sa Senado… 76 percent of total wealth created goes to  only 40 families,” Casiño shared.

Lastly, Falcone claimed, “I want to represent the poor and the Bisaya. They constitute 60 percent of the population yet there is nobody from the Visayas except Baldomero Falcone.”

The next round followed where representatives from various sectors were given the chance to ask any pressing issue, so with the students and panelists who are experts from PPCRV and UP Faculty and Administration.

Then, the status of the Socialized Tuition and Financial Assistance program, popularly known as “STFAP” was the topic chosen for discussion by the university for the Open Mic Segment.

“Itutuloy ko ang laban para sa lahat ng anak ng mga below poverty line.. Do not give any room for corruption. Ayon sa ating batas, ang mga below poverty line ay exempted na sa tax. Government exists to educate the people,” Villanueva pointed out.

Meanwhile, Casiño stressed, “The STFAP is a revenue generating measure. Let’s call a spade a spade. It is skewed towards B and C. We can skew the system para sa D and E ang emphasis. Adjust the application policies of UP.”

“The real problem of the country is the economy. Students may study now and pay later if we improve economy,” Falcone answered.

And for Señeres: “Ang hirap-hirap mag-apply (sa STFAP). Kailangan ang sistema ang baguhin.”

Finally, the most interesting if not revealing part would be the “One Word Segment” wherein the candidates were given random word or phrases like “worst decision in life”, “fraternity”, “forbidden love”, “most guilty pressure” and immediately after, the candidates had to say one word on top of their minds.

The event was co-presented by Sky Broadband with major tie-up partners: Theta Epsilon Sorority, PUP Economics Research Society, Akbayan Youth and CSSP Student Council.

Minor tie-up partners included the College of Education Student Council, FEU Economics Society, Adamson University Society of Economics Students, UP Palaweños, UP Debate Society, Philippine Society of Mechanical Engineers – UP Student Unit, School of Economics Student Council and Student Council Alliance of the Philippines.

The event was also held in partnership with media sponsors DZUP 1602, ClicktheCity, INQUIRER.net and C&E Publishing Inc.