1st ‘Politicon PH’ forum headlines candidates, top bloggers

Poster image form Gavagives

MANILA, Philippines — For far too long, political debates have been held either in limited-scope venues or haphazardly on online forums, Gavagives, one of the leading crowdfunding platforms in the Philippines, said in a recent statement.

So GavaGives has come up with a debate forum that aims for more than a formulaic approach.

It’s called “Politicon Philippines 2019,” an annual nonpartisan and professionally moderated political convention, that will take place on April 27 at the historic Rizal Park Hotel in Manila.

The need for this sort of political event has been so acute that online attention has gone viral since it was announced.

Politicon aspires to become a cultural fixture in the same way that “ComicCon is to the comic book industry or what Digicon is to tech.”

In effect, it seeks to celebrate politics without trivializing it, or worse, keeping it inaccessible to the youth who are otherwise alienated or bored with it.

“The world of politics is changing, we’ve decided to change with it,” the event organizers said in a statement.

The logistical arm of Politicon Philippines said the event would feature “the most insightful and entertaining speeches from the most powerful minds in Philippine politics.”

In terms of politicians, organizers have made the decision to invite just the cream of the crop across party faultlines.

As the organizers pointed out, the event comes at a time of doggedly polarized opinion within the political spectrum.

Announcements will be made next week as to the composition of the final lineup.

So far, two well-known and influential rivals with drastically diverse political stances have agreed to meet in what is shaping up to be a fiery main event: a one-on-one between strong Duterte supporter Sass Rogando Sasot and fearless political commentator Richard Heydarian.

Sasot, a social analyst and transgender advocate, has enthusiastically accepted a standing challenge to a debate by Heydarian, a respected academic and prolific writer.

Heydarian himself thinks that people deserve more than the typically “boring” Senate debates. He said there was a “need for substantive reckoning with our political realities, including thousands of unexplained deaths.”

Serving as host and moderator for this exchange of political broadsides is social media tycoon Franco Mabanta, a CEO who, at just 36-years-old, has become widely recognized as one of the sharpest political strategists in the game today.

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But the organizers clarified: “It is not an election-related affair. It is an event designed to bring about informed dialogue on our most pressing national issues for the benefit of the citizenry. It is neither a campaign event nor a platform for partisan discourse. And this is why Politicon Philippines is the most innovative and indispensable event of its kind for our country in such a polarised and divisive atmosphere. It’s a pioneering effort at bringing our country together through dialogue and reasoned discourse.”

Celebrated rapper and R&B artist Quest is confirmed to perform as well.

Politicon Philippines is presented by GavaGives — a partner to over 200 charities that include aid for children with cancer in Mindanao and innocent men wrongly imprisoned.

All of the ticket proceeds will be donated to the troops who fought during the Marawi siege and all internally displaced persons.

Tickets can be purchased at the Gavagives website. All students who present their IDs will get a 50-percent discount.