CEBU CITY, Philippines—The second presidential debate on Sunday will not only be longer by an hour but it will be explosive.
Organizers of the Visayas-leg of the “PILIPinas 2016” debate at the University of the Philippines Cebu on Gorordo Avenue here promised there will be more fireworks from the candidates.
Hosting the second debate organized by the Commission on Elections (Comelec) are media partners TV5 and Philippine Star.
“If anything, the first presidential debate showed us the surface profiles of the candidates, what issues rattled them, what triggered or excited them. The second presidential debate should reveal to us other important aspects of their candidacies,” Comelec Chair Andres Bautista said in a statement.
According to Bautista, the primary rule is that all the questions will fall under the agreed on themes for the debate.
He said the candidates will be allowed to wear campaign or casual clothes so they could be more at ease on stage. And just like the first debate, the candidates will be allowed to bring supporters, while UP students could watch from big screens set up in the open field.
The people can watch the debate on TV5 or via livestreaming on https://www.bilangpilipino.com/
Patrick Paez, TV5 head of news production, said at the media briefing on Saturday the format will be different from the first debate in Cagayan de Oro City, which followed a forum-like format where the candidates gave their statements and were allowed to make rebuttals.
Two major rounds
This time, the candidates will be able to ask questions of their opponents.
Paez said there will be two major rounds.
The first one will follow a panel format, composed of Lourd de Veyra, TV5 news anchor; Marichu Villanueva, Philippine Star associate editor; Ana Marie Pamintuan, Philippine Star editor in chief; lawyer Ruphil Banoc, dyHP station manager, and Tony Abad, Bloomberg TV Philippines host.
The second round will be the interaction among the candidates.
Luchi Cruz-Valdes, TV5 head of news and information, will moderate both rounds.
United Nationalist Alliance standard bearer Vice President Jejomar Binay and independent candidate Sen. Grace Poe arrived here a day early.
Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte of PDP-Laban and Mar Roxas of the Liberal Party were expected to arrive on Sunday morning.
During the Inquirer Town Hall on Thursday, Poe’s campaign manager, Cebu Rep. Joseph Ace Durano, said the topics had been chosen: Disaster/climate change preparedness, healthcare, fighting corruption, and education.
Raymond Aquino, of Duterte’s camp, said the public should expect a feistier mayor from the first debate.
The debate will start at 5 p.m. and end at 8 p.m.
Sen. Miriam Santiago will skip the Cebu debate to undergo a clinical trial for a new anticancer pill but organizers gave in to her request to allow her 15 supporters to watch. With a report from Carmel Loise Matus, Inquirer Visayas
Commission on Elections (COMELEC) chairman Andres Bautista. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO