Two days before the anticipated debate of Bacolod City mayoralty candidates, incumbent Mayor Evelio “Bing” Leonardia and former congressman Alfredo “Albee” Benitez, at the University of St. La Salle-Bacolod on Saturday, January 15, the former is calling for a face-to-face debate with his opponent.
Leonardia’s debate coordinator George Zulueta said the term “debate” would become a “misnomer” if the University of the Philippines Law Alumni Association-Negros Occidental Chapter, who organized the event, will push through with it virtually.
“In a face-to-face format, the debaters will be able to prove to the general public their ability and readiness in tackling the issues and respond spontaneously to the questions in an impromptu manner,” he said.
Zulueta noted that the original plan was to hold the one-on-one debate format where the debaters face off with each other on the stage or podium and will be broadcast live via Facebook and Zoom.
The organizers, however, notified both camps on January 7 that the debate will be done virtually. A Zoom Room will be assigned for the mayoralty candidates and their debate will be streamed live on Facebook.
However, the camp of Leonardia objected to the idea, pointing out that the rival might be aided by a teleprompter.
Referring to Benitez, Zulueta said that the former solon might bring a coach and some documents or employ a team that will prompt him how to give his responses which defeats the purpose of a debate.
If the proceedings are done behind closed doors, it can be a venue for cheating, he added, as he stressed that they do not question the impartiality in the crafting of debate rules, he stressed.
He also said that they don't want to pay attention to observations made by some quarters either, that there appears to be bias here in favor of the rival.
Although, in an earlier event information sent out to the public, Leonardia's birthplace was listed as ”Negros Occidental" despite the fact that the mayor is a “tumandok” (native) of Bacolod City, Zulueta lamented.
Similarly, the event information also published only one advocacy of Leonardia and six for Benitez, he said.
For his part, Benitez said he is ready to “face anyone anytime and anywhere” in using whatever platforms.
He said that the debate will enable him to discuss the prevailing problems and concerns in Bacolod mainly for the good of the city and welfare of the people.
Benitez added that he was only invited to join the debate on the intention of educating the voting public, hence, he will follow the format and mechanics set by the organizers.
As this developed, the UP Law Alumni Association Negros Occidental Chapter responded to the sentiments of Leonardia’s camp asking for a face-to-face debate.
“We agree that a face-to-face debate may appear to be more exciting,” the organizer said in a statement, adding that the first ever virtual town hall debate is being organized to elevate discussions around issues and to provide a platform for candidates to make known their positions on various issues, among others.
They said that the invitations for the virtual event were sent to all candidates for mayor of Bacolod City and governor of Negros Occidental, based on the mechanics which they designed, and mindful of health and safety issues.
“We reiterate that with the current surge of coronavirus disease (Covid-19) cases the past days reaching a record high of positivity rate of 44 percent and daily cases of 33,000, the highest since the pandemic started two years ago, these considerations remain paramount,” they added.
The organizer maintains a virtual debate via zoom and live streamed on Facebook on Saturday as originally indicated in our letter invitation dated October 30, 2021, it said.
The association also said, “we also wish to convey to you that we take exception to sly and baseless imputations of unfairness and bias against the organizing institutions.”
“With respect to the profiles, we were constrained to rely on the online research of knowledge partners, in the absence of information from candidates, following our request for a curriculum vitae profile,” they explained.
The UP law graduates said that they hope that their efforts in organizing the event is appreciated and that they are given due respect.
Further, they believe that the virtual debate on Saturday will be one of the many debates and face-offs that the local candidates will have, as they emphasize that they would be happy to support a face-to-face debate that may be organized in the future.*