Fluvial parade to greet bets in final presidential debate

DAGUPAN CITY—A fluvial protest will greet the five presidential candidates who will take part in Sunday’s third and final debate to be hosted by this Pangasinan city.

As many as 30 boats will cruise along the Pantal River, which is a stone’s throw away from the debate venue at University of Pangasinan (UPang).

The parade will involve fisherfolk leaders, civil society groups and marine conservation advocates who want the candidates to include their sectors in their proposed government agenda and address the poverty in coastal communities and the deteriorating conditions of fishing grounds.

The parade will start at 7 a.m. from a dock at Poblacion Oeste and end at the Quintos Bridge near the debate venue.

“I hope they will [also] touch this time on issues on the environment and the West Philippine Sea,” said Perla Legaspi, former vice chancellor of University of the Philippines in Diliman, who now heads the graduate school program of Lyceum Northwestern University here.

The three-hour final presidential debate, organized by the Commission on Elections (Comelec) and the Kapisanan ng mga Brodkaster ng Pilipinas (KBP), is sponsored by the ABS-CBN network and Manila Bulletin.

KBP said Vice President Jejomar Binay, Sen. Grace Poe, Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte, former Interior Secretary Mar Roxas,  and Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago have confirmed attendance in the debate.

Traffic rerouting schemes have been planned for the event, which coincided with the final week festivities of the city’s annual Bangus Festival.

Pangasinan lawyer Victor Manuel, who will be watching the event on television, said he did not expect a contentious debate. “It’s a town hall type debate, and it’s a question and answer [format so] questions will come from the audience,” he said.

ABS-CBN said that with a town hall format, sectoral representatives would be given the chance to throw their questions at the candidates.

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The candidates would also have an opportunity to challenge each other during the face-off segment. Each candidate is allowed to grill a fellow candidate on his or her ability to govern and lead.

On Saturday, local Comelec officials and media representatives inspected the debate venue inside the UPang compound.

“All is set and with the amount of work put in the last few days, we can only hope that nothing will go wrong,” said Jay Mendoza, KBP Pangasinan vice chair.

Only 1,100 people, who have been issued tickets, will be allowed inside the Upang student plaza, the debate venue. But thousands of the five presidential candidates’ supporters are expected to crowd the streets near the UPang campus, prompting authorities to implement tight security measures.

Supt. Christopher Abrahano, city police chief, said that the debate inside the university has been designated as a controlled area. “Those who have tickets should prepare to submit themselves for inspection,” Abrahano said.

“Bringing bottled water or drinks, professional cameras and backpacks are prohibited inside the debate hall. Pregnant women, children and elderly are not advised to attend the gathering for their own safety,” he said.

He also advised motorists to take alternate routes to avoid being inconvenienced because of the closure of two streets during the event.