Sparks fly as vice presidential bets slug it out

MANILA, Philippines – It was an action-packed Sunday for Filipinos.

Just hours after the Manny Pacquiao and Timothy Bradley bout, candidates for the second highest post in the land slugged it out in a three-hour debate held at the University of Santo Tomas in Manila.

Sen. Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. took the heaviest blows both from the audience and his rivals, who brought up issues of corruption and human rights violations allegedly committed during the regime of his father and namesake, dictator Ferdinand Marcos.

Even before he could begin his opening statement, Marcos was interrupted by five
 members of the audience, who were immediately escorted out of the venue after heckling the senator.

The senator, however, appeared unfazed and proceeded with his prepared opening statement, highlighting his track record in the past 27 years of his government service.

In several instances during the course of the debate, the senator was interrupted or booed, prompting moderators Pia Hontiveros and Pinky Webb to ask the audience to let the candidates finish their remarks.

The only PiliPinas 2016 vice presidential debate, which lasted for over three hours, was organized by CNN Philippines and Business Mirror. 

Issues included transparency and corruption, human rights violations, political dynasties, peace and order, problems in transportation and connectivity, and foreign policy.

Corruption

Marcos was put on the spot immediately at the very start of debate, when the candidates were asked how they would stop corruption.

Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano blasted Marcos, bringing up the $10 billion that was allegedly stolen from government coffers during the time of his father.

Cayetano also brought up the issue of the Priority Development Assistance Fund or the pork barrel’s misuse by Marcos, associating him with alleged scam mastermind Janet Lim-Napoles.

He also accused Marcos of not attending the Blue Ribbon anti-corruption hearings in the Senate, particularly on the issue of the pork barrel scam.

Marcos responded by saying the attacks against him are politically motivated.

He also noted that Napoles herself issued an affidavit that she had no business transaction with him.

On the other hand, Sen. Francis Escudero, Camarines Sur Rep. Leni Robredo and Sen. Gregorio Honasan all stressed the need to pass the Freedom of Information bill to ensure transparency and curb corruption in government.

Escudero  also said there is a need to minimize “discretion,” as well as provide specific proposals to overhaul the Bureau of Customs.

Sen. Antonio Trillanes proposed the creation of an anti-corruption agency to monitor government transactions and operations.

He also responded to the claim of Marcos that the alleged corruption investigations in the Senate are politically motivated, trumping the probe on the corruption allegations against Vice President Jejomar Binay.

Binay, who was in the audience to support his running mate Honasan, was seen booing Trillanes.

No apology

Robredo joined the fray when Marcos, while stressing that he recognizes every human rights abuse committed in every administration, said he cannot apologize for the supposed violations at the time of the dictatorship.

“What I can say also to you is that, in my 27 years of service, there has never been any suspicion, any accusation, or even any allegation made against me that there were human rights abuses or non-recognition of people’s civil rights in my path in government,” said Marcos.

“I will apologize for any wrongdoing that I may have done, any mistake that may have caused anyone any pain or hardship, but I can only apologize for myself,” he added.

Robredo jumped at the response of Marcos, pointing out that the alleged ill-gotten wealth should first be returned to the government.

She asked why the Marcoses have refused to pay the victims of abuses during martial law.

Marcos replied that the Aquino administration is the one blocking the release of compensation for victims of human rights violations.

“It’s very clear that we are in the middle of the campaign. It’s not my family who’s blocking the compensation, the Liberal Party is the one blocking their payment,” he said.

“We have not been arguing, sending lawyers for years, the Marcos family is no longer involved (in the release of claims),” he said.

Political dynasty

All six candidates agreed that it is time to pass an anti-dynasty law.

Of the six, Cayetano, Marcos and Escudero have family members serving in various positions in government.

Robredo, who noted a study correlating political dynasties and poverty, said she has authored an anti-political dynasty bill, which has reached second reading in the 16th Congress.

Escudero said he would vote in favor of such a bill, but that he would not join in the crafting of the measure to avoid being accused of bias.

Honasan, meanwhile, said there is a need to define the term “dynasty” and then find out if these dynasties serve the public interest or not.

“We have an issue with dynasties because we don’t have a functioning political system,” he said.

Both Trillanes and Marcos said one should vote not on the basis of surnames.

“Remove our surnames and look at our records in public service… then you will know who really did something,” added Marcos.

Criminality

Trillanes questioned the capability of Cayetano and his running mate, Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte, to fulfill their promise of addressing crime within six months of their administration.

He noted that Duterte was not able to do such thing in Davao City, which he said ranks fourth in the country in terms of crime index.

But Cayetano maintained that they have a strategic plan to achieve their promise, challenging his rivals to lay down their plans instead of questioning theirs.

The debate ended at 8:30 p.m., with all the presidential bets shaking hands. – With Perseus Echeminada, Helen Flores, Christina Mendez, Alexis Romero