'Hugpong ng Pagbabago' vs 'Otso Diretso' debate unlikely, says Comelec

MANILA, Philippines — The Commission on Elections (Comelec) is cool to the proposal to organize a debate between the senatorial candidates of the administration’s Hugpong ng Pagbabago (HNP) and the opposition Otso Diretso.

In an interview, Comelec spokesman James Jimenez yesterday said they might no longer be able to arrange a debate between the two parties due to time constraints.

“Not to pre-empt the Commission en banc, but we only have less than two months to go, so it’s unlikely... As far as the time element is concerned, it’s doubtful,” he said.

Last week, five senatorial bets of Otso Diretso filed a formal request for the Comelec to organize a debate with their HNP rivals.

Jimenez said this would be discussed by the comission and “if the en banc rules on it one way or the other, then we will implement.”

“(But) to be honest, organizing a debate is not an overnight job,” he said.

The Otso Diretso candidates initially challenged HNP bets two weeks ago to a debate instead of complaining about mudslinging during campaign sorties. The invitation, however, was informal and was made during a forum attended by the media.

On Feb. 25, the opposition bets arrived at Plaza Miranda in Quiapo, Manila for a supposedly scheduled public debate, but not one of the 13 candidates from HNP showed up.

A day after the Hugpong snubbed the public debate with Otso Diretso, HNP campaign manager and Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio said she preferred a more organized debate to a “palengke-style” discourse. She also stressed that parties should first reach an agreement on the venue, time and rules of the debate.

Spirit of democracy

Contrary to the claim of Malacañang that the debate being requested is a mere effort to gain publicity, human rights lawyer Otso Diretso coalition senatorial candidate Jose Manuel “Chel” Diokno maintained that having a debate is the spirit of democracy.

Diokno turned the tables on the administration candidates, who he said did nothing but put too many tarpaulins on the streets to advance their political campaigns.

“Tungkulin ng oposisyon na kuwestiyunin, punahin at magbigay ng alternatibo sa pagpapatakbo sa pamahalaan. Huwag naman sanang balat-sibuyas ang ating pangulo – ito ang diwa ng demokrasya (It is the duty of the opposition to question, criticize and give alternatives to running the government – our President should not be so sensitive, this is the spirit of democracy),” Diokno said.

“Men are not compatible with democracy. We can strengthen our leaders by pointing out what they are doing that is wrong,” Diokno added, quoting his late father, former senator Jose “Pepe” Diokno.

Diokno stressed that talking about issues concerning the people is essential for a senator, whose main task is to craft laws. A senator’s work, he said, is not measured by how big a campaign tarpaulin is. – With Cecille Suerte Felipe