The first, and probably the only, debate for provincial candidates in the May 12, 2025 National and Local Elections has brought some clarity to the electorate as far as the aspirants’ stand on key issues are concerned.
For this, the Catanduanes State University College of Law, the Political Science Society, the Debate Society, the Office of the Provincial Elections Supervisor (OPES) and Caritas Virac deserves the gratitude of the voters who genuinely hunger for political discourse.
All of the candidates for governor, vice governor and congressman were there at the university auditorium last Saturday, April 12, to introduce their political platforms and to answer questions from panelists, the audience and netizens.
It is just disappointing that of the 17 candidates for provincial board member in both districts, only six showed up and only one of them was an incumbent SP member, the youngest of the lot.
Missing from the event that drew more than 50,000 viewers on Facebook were two veteran PBMs from the West District and three from the East District, as well as six other aspirants.
Well, the electorate cannot take it against the absentees if they did not want the chance to court the voters and instead spent the time going house-to-house to meet them face-to-face.
After all, no law requires candidates, especially at the local level, to participate in a debate.
In fact, Section 7.3 of the Fair Election Act or Republic Act 9006, Section 7.3. only states that Comelec may “require national television and radio networks to sponsor at least three national debates among presidential candidates and at least one national debate among vice-presidential candidates.”
Apart from the lack of interest among the SP bets, the “Aratubangan 2025” did have its faults, with the first the organizers’ failure to acknowledge the presence of gubernatorial candidate Atty. Oliver Rodulfo.
Then there was the hue and cry raised on social media by some members of the local press who noted that they were represented in the debate panel by someone who is not a practicing journalist.
Apparently, the organizers felt that the local media are all biased in favor of one or another group of candidates and chose somebody in the field of campus journalism.
Had there been an invitation, the Tribune would have declined to participate as a panelist as one of the candidates for PBM is a son of the publisher-editor.
Post-debate, the perceived slight against the local media has unjustly stirred up speculation that most of them are in the payroll of their politician friends.
On the other hand, there is the accusation aired by Atty. Rodulfo that some candidates were provided the questions ahead of the debate, giving them an undue advantage over their rivals.
There have been insinuations weeks before that the debate was not expected to be fair due to the presence among the organizers of supporters of the former university president.
Then there is the choice of questions and issues posed to the candidates, including the issue of the alleged business monopoly believed to be targeting the Cua brothers.
As correctly pointed out by the veteran lawyer, the monopoly issue is fake news and should not have been made an issue in the debate.
Apart from Powerzone, there are three other fuel stations operating in the province – Silangan, Gelo’s and Ultragas – and the list does not include two others operating in Pandan and Caramoran as well as the scores of makeshift stands and sari-sari stores selling fuel by the liter bottle.
In the next one or two issues, this paper hopes to publish word for word the pronouncements of the debate participants and their answers to the questions posed by the panelists.
Perhaps, the readers of the paper as well as its online issue would be able to thoroughly understand what they said so that they may be guided when the time comes to vote.
Of particular interest are the aspirants for the right to represent Catandunganons in Congress, as the legislator’s actions while in office directly affect the island’s economy as ably, and unfortunately, demonstrated by the present occupant.
Probably spurred by his political pedigree, one referred to his constituents as his “nasasakupan” while the son of another former congressman did little to dispel suspicions that he was made to run out of his father’s spite for erstwhile allies.
The remaining two “serious” candidates are expected to battle tooth and nail until election day when their answers to the debate questions will be all but forgotten by the electorate.