DAVAO CITY -- A religious leader called Senator Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III as having “no word of honor” after the Liberal Party (LP) standard bearer failed to attend this city’s first ever presidential forum Tuesday.

“Commitment is your word of honor. When you fail to fulfill your commitment, you have no word and you have no honor,” said Pastor Apollo Quiboloy, citing that it was Aquino who asked the forum to be reset from February 11 to March 9.

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He told the audience of Tuesday’s presidential forum, which was held at the Kingdom of Jesus Christ: The Name Above Every Name in Buhangin district, that the event was initially slated on February 11 but due to Aquino’s unavailability, he decided to move it to March 9 with the senator committing to attend.

At the last minute, however, Aquino reportedly decided to cancel his attendance to Quiboloy's forum. The Liberal Party (LP) standard bearer said he was advised by his physician to refrain from travelling by plane due to an illness.

“You might be disappointed like me,” said Quiboloy, drawing cheers from his followers.

Senator Manny Villar, standard bearer of Nacionalista Party (NP), also failed to attend Quiboloy’s forum.

The two presidential bets also did not appear at the forum of the Ateneo de Davao University that was attended by hundreds of students.

Both forums were held in this city Tuesday, with the Ateneo forum at the school’s Jacinto campus in the morning, and Quiboloy’s forum in the afternoon.

Pwersa ng Masang Pilipino (PMP) presidential bet Joseph "Erap" Estrada came in late at the forum sponsored by Quiboloy, dubbed as "Sukatan 2010," as his plane was still stuck at the hangar of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport around 1 p.m.

The presidential forum started around 3:30 p.m.

JC delos Reyes, who was at the Ateneo forum in the morning, surprisingly failed to attend the afternoon event.

Ateneo students who were all eager to listen to the candidates were as dismayed as Pastor Quiboloy by the absence of the presidentiables.

Ash Lagon, student writer of Ateneo, said many of his classmates are rooting for either Aquino or Villar. But due to their absence, they shifted their choice to either Richard Gordon or Jamby Madrigal or Gilbert Teodoro who were all present during the forum.

Other presidentiables present at the Ateneo forum were Nicanor Perlas, Eddie Villanueva, and JC delos Reyes.

Among the candidates, it was former defense secretary Teodoro who got the most thunderous applause from the students.

The six candidates present took the chance to present their platform to the Ateneo students and faculty in the “Panghisgot-hisgot (Discussions) 2010 Presidential Forum.”

The issues discussed during the two-and-half-hour forum ranged from the presidential candidates’ respective platforms of government to the problems of Mindanao, such as power crisis, mining, warlordism, and peace and order, which continues to hamper development of the region.

Election lawyer Romulo Macalintal hosted the first presidential forum, with members of the media as among those who asked the questions. (Ben O. Tesiorna/With PNA/Sun.Star Davao/Sunnex)