Mayor Sara keen on debates but Senate bets seem doesn’t
Credit to Author: Tempo Desk| Date: Thu, 28 Feb 2019 07:23:42 +0000
MAYOR Sara Duterte-Carpio. (Instagram)
Even as Hugpong ng Pagbabago and Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio showed interest in getting administration senatorial candidates to accept the challenge for a public debate, only a handful appeared receptive to the idea.
As of yesterday, only reelectionist Sen. JV Ejercito and former Interior and Local Government Secretary Rafael Alunan have accepted the invitation for a debate on Sunday sent by television network ABS-CBN.
Ejercito, who represents the Nationalist People’s Coalition, is one of the 13 senatorial hopefuls endorsed by Duterte-Carpio’s Hugpong party. On the other hand, Bagumbayan bet Alunan just earned President Duterte’s backing last Saturday.
Ejercito and Alunan will face little known senatorial bets in the ABS-CBN event.
Interviewed on the debate controversy, Duterte-Carpio denied she refused to accept the challenge of debate coming from the opposition “Otso-Diretso” bets. “Sige, mag-identify lang dapat ng organizer, dapat may third party na organizer sa debate,” she told reporters.
At the Pateros, Metro Manila campaign sortie yesterday, Duterte-Carpio chided the Otso-Diretso challengers for being “disorganized,” noting that they have failed to come up with debate rules.
Duterte-Carpio said she resents being ordered around by Otso Diretso, apparently referring to the Liberal Party-backed team’s advice that she must set the rules herself. “May obsessive disorder na grupo na may fixation obsessions sa debate. Hindi naman kami ang nag-challenge, sila iyon,” she said.
She added: “Sabi ko lang make it professjonal, they should present themselves to be senators, they act like senators.”
Asked if she could guarantee the presence of the HNP bets last Tuesday, Duterte said the debate is a “personal choice” left to the candidate to decide. “May mga candidates kasi kami na hindi talaga interested sa debate because they based their candidacy on track record for public service,” she explained.
Ejercito, who has earned the moniker “Mr. Public Health” for his authorship of the newly-signed Universal Health Care Law, and Alunan were among the senatorial bets who were scheduled to appear at the ABS-CBN Senatorial Debate last Sunday. Both begged off in order to join President Duterte in a big campaign rally in Cebu City scheduled that day.
The names of former Senate President Koko Pimentel, Philippine National Police chief Ronaldo “Bato” M. de la Rosa, Maguindanao Rep. Zajid Mangudadatu, and former Sen. Serge Osmena were in the original list of participants at the ABS-CBN event but likewise had to beg off. (Ben Rosario)