THE five candidates played it safe and stuck to their standard campaign promises in the last presidential debate Sunday night, marked by a lack of fireworks and time-consuming “man-on-the-street” videos that posed questions to the participants.
Some extreme positions were taken on the country’s territorial dispute with China—with Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago saying she would bomb the Chinese who harassed Filipino fishermen, and Mayor Rodrigo Duterte saying he would jetski to the disputed Scarborough Shoal and plant the Philippine flag there.
Administration candidate Manuel Roxas II, Senator Grace Poe and Vice President Jejomar Binay said they would engage China in bilateral talks, even as they pursued the country’s case before the UN Permanent Court of Arbitration.
In one portion of the debate, Poe—whose citizenship became a campaign issue—said her husband, Teodoro Llamanzares, gave up his American citizenship about a month ago, and emphasized that he was a natural-born Filipino, born of Filipino parents.
In one of the few sharp exchanges, administration bet Manuel Roxas II dared Duterte to back down if he could disprove the mayor’s statement that no health benefits had reached the people of Davao. Duterte then turned to the audience and asked: “Is this guy telling the truth?”
Roxas responded by urging the youth not to follow Duterte’s example, backing away when the facts went against him, and turning to other issues when this happened.
Duterte shot back: “If people believe you, why are your ratings so low?”
Roxas again attacked Binay on allegations of corruption, and Binay again questioned Poe—once an American citizen—on her patriotism, but none of these drew blood.
The last debate, sponsored by ABS-CBN, was moved an hour later to 6 p.m. to spare the candidates and audience from the soaring temperature at the Phinma University of Pangasinan in Dagupan City.
In turn, the candidates answered questions about the worsening traffic in Metro Manila, health insurance, labor contractualization, the Moro rebellion, the welfare of overseas workers and the territorial dispute with China.
All candidates said they would end the practice of contractualization that deprived workers of job security. Roxas said he would ask Congress to close the loopholes in the law that enable companies to hire contractual workers for up to five months, then let them go and later rehire them. Poe said she would offer to lower corporate taxes in exchange for accepting an end to contractualization.
All five candidates also promised new infrastructure to deal with the traffic problem, with Duterte saying he would build a new railway over the Pasig River so there would be no need to negotiate the right-of-way.
In their closing statements, each candidate reiterated their respective plans and promises.
Duterte promised again to clamp down on drugs, criminality and corruption and to address the growing problem of terrorism.
Santiago urged voters to elect a president who met her three qualifications for leadership: academic excellence, professional excellence and moral integrity.
Santiago, who is recovering from cancer, appeared strong when she walked up to the podium for the debate, but her weakness was noticeable when she paused several times while talking.
She got the loudest welcome when she arrived at the venue for the town hall debate.
Confronted with inquiries about her health, Santiago said she was “back to normal” and said she never lied to the Filipino people about her condition.
The administration candidate Roxas said he would give the country six more years of “honest, decent, hardworking governance” that would bring progress to the country.
He urged voters to stay the course because the economy has grown under the current administration, which he said has turned the Philippines from the sick man of Asia to the region’s “brightest star.”
Binay took to pacing the stage when delivering his closing remarks, dismissed the accusations against him as false, and played up his executive abilities and his track record.
Poe emphasized the advantages of having a woman as president because women are patient and loving, but unrelenting when their loved ones were threatened. She also sought to turn her inexperience into an advantage, by saying the country’s old problems needed a new perspective.