Make voters fully informed: Cayetano pushes for monthly presidential debates

Billy Begas

Former House Speaker and incumbent Taguig-Pateros Rep. Alan Peter Cayetano is pushing for monthly debates among all presidential aspirants starting this December to fully inform Filipino voters about their choices in the upcoming elections.

“We keep telling people, let’s be objective, facts tayo, huwag tayo emosyon, but we’re not giving them the venue to do that. So ang nangyayari ngayon, kanya-kanyang kampanya, kanya-kanyang kampihan, but we’re not giving the public the venue na mai-side-to-side ang mga kandidato,” Cayetano said.

Cayetano also proposed one-on-one debates among the six leading presidential aspirants on a round-robin basis to give candidates ample space to express their views on a broad range of national issues.

“I think mahihimay natin nang husto lahat ng kailangan natin himayin — qualification, track record, ability, foresight, vision — lahat ng gusto natin I extract sa isang kandidato,” Cayetano added.

But Cayetano said the venue should not be used by candidates to attack one another and to “disagree for the sake of disagreeing.”

He also suggested to debates to be hosted by media networks, major universities, and faith-based and business groups.

Cayetano said the moderators should be able to cut candidates off when they start exchanging personal and off-topic attacks.

He also suggested at least 12 discussion points that can be tabled during the debates—the COVID-19 response, health, economy, wages and employment, poverty and hunger, corruption, stimulus measures for displaced workers, law enforcement, values in government, peace and order, environmental sustainability, and foreign relations.

“What I wanted to point out lang is that kulang na kulang yung tatlong debate, because then we will have to condense all these topics, samantalang we have time,” Cayetano pointed out referring to the three presidential debates hosted by the Commission on Elections (Comelec) for the 2016 elections.

Make voters fully informed: Cayetano pushes for monthly presidential debates
Source: Philippines Clips