Koko wants TV presidential debates free of commercials

Senator Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

THE COMMISSION on Elections-organized debates of presidential candidates should be aired nonstop and should not be commercial or profit-oriented events, according to Sen. Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III, chair of the Senate committee on electoral reforms.

Pimentel said the first round of debates in Cagayan de Oro, cohosted by the Philippine Daily Inquirer and GMA Network and aired on GMA 7, accommodated too many advertisements and did not give enough time for the candidates to discuss their platforms.

“It should never be commercialized. This is a presidential debate. It is a public service,” Pimentel said in a phone interview.

The senator said that for the coming debates to be held in Luzon and the Visayas, the Comelec could ask its media partners to limit the commercial load of the event if they have not yet sold airtime to advertisers.

“We have to give the impression that this is not a commercial show,” he said.

The second presidential debate, to be cohosted by The Philippine Star, TV5 and BusinessWorld, will be held at the University of the Philippines-Cebu on March 20. The third will be led by ABS-CBN and Manila Bulletin at the University of Pangasinan on April 24.

Pimentel proposed that in future campaigns, the poll body should just fund the debate and hold a bidding, in accordance with the procurement law, to determine who would air the event. This way, it could be aired without the need for advertisements, he added.

“I would suggest to the Comelec to pay for the two to three hour nonstop coverage of the presidential debates,” he said.

The funding could be incorporated in the Comelec’s budget every election year, he said.

Earlier, Vice President Jejomar Binay expressed the same observation about the commercial load of the first debate. He said he would ask the poll body to use its own resources to hold the debates.

According to Pimentel, the commercial breaks during the Mindanao debate were a waste of time for the candidates.