Four of them say will not run for president in the future, while Cayetano says he has no plans to run at the moment, whereas Trillanes declines to give a definite response.
All of the rivals are of the same mind affirming that it’s about time for the government to improve the country's internet speed,[3] which is second to the slowest in Asia, Afghanistan being the slowest. Internet is useful not only to tech-savvy youth but also in trade and commerce, they say.
Although the Philippines seeks a diplomatic resolution in its territorial dispute with China over a portion of the South China Sea, vice presidential candidates believe that the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) should still maintain its modernization program. Candidates agree that national interest should be the driving force behind Philippine foreign policy. The foreign policy question was handled by CNN International Correspondents Ivan Watson and Kristie Lu Stout.[4]
Pertaining to the issue on “How can they guarantee that they can fight corruption especially to some of them who have been accused of or linked into this, they have offered their thoughts, and some, their solution to the issue. Most of them believe that the Freedom of Information (FOI) bill[5], which the 16th Congress failed to pass, should be pursued by the next administration.
All of the six candidates take a cohesive stance opinion on solving the traffic problem in the country’s capital,[6] by improving the mass transit system and moving government offices and business centers out of Metro Manila. Leni Robredo relates that she commutes to and from her hometown of Bicol weekly. In fact, she rode the LRT-2 on the way to San Beda College when she studied there last semester.[7] She is among millions of Filipino commuters who are dying to have a better transport system, claiming that a better mass transport system is the key to decongesting Metro Manila.
Metro Manila traffic was named worst on earth in a global evaluation conducted by GPS-based navigation app Waze. The American Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines had also noted that if the traffic situation got worse in Metro Manila, the nation's capital might be uninhabitable in four years.
Escudero deemed that if only the past administrations have been keen in providing more shelter for informal settlers, the country could have been more progressive, citing Taiwan as an example. Camarines Sur Rep. Leni Robredo did not give a categorical answer to the question.
In a different segment, the candidates used a pair of "thumbs up" and "thumbs down" signs to convey their positions while disallowed to defend their responses.[8]
Heated exchanges of contention resume when the issue of political dynasties was raised. Cayetano pointed out that wouldn't the campaign money to be used by such a candidate be coming from stolen pork barrel — in the same vein that Marcos' money was from the "ill-gotten" wealth of his parents. With this comparison, he harped on the fact that Marcos remains his father's son and the father’s transgression mirrors on his offspring.[9]
All of the six candidates are in favor of passing an anti-political dynasty law - with Cayetano, Marcos and Sen. Francis "Chiz" Escudero admitting that they belonged to a political clan.
Marcos mentions that among them, he was the first one who wrote an anti-political dynasty provision.
Leni Robredo also reveals that she was one of the co-authors of an anti-political dynasty bill, remarking that there should be equal opportunities for everybody.
Cayetano says he would not be against such measure.
Escudero refuses to participate in any deliberation regarding such measure as he came from a political clan. Trillanes even discloses that Escudero's mother was sitting as a representative of Sorsogon.
Sen. Gringo Honasan takes this carefully as a political dynasty has yet to be defined by law, as he claims.
Robredo's closing statement[10] is perhaps affective and effective aside from Cayetano’s should you evaluate it with a heart that scrutinizes. She says that in her travels around the country, the reason for her being here today has become clearer to her. That she feels that her whole life has been a preparation - the simple life, the challenges and difficulties that her family went through, her long years of service to those at the fringes of society. That whenever she reviews the story and faces of those who she has met, she tells herself that she’s excited to win, not for herself but for her countrymen who hope for a leader who will not abandon them. When she first ran, almost no one knew her, she says. Among all of them, she was last, she muses. Now, the story is different. It is close, success is at hand. That she is a mother and she will never abandon her children, she will not abandon the country. She believes that in the end, what is right will always prevail. Finally, she desires that among the 6 of them, may the best woman win!
So what are the perceived weak-points of the candidates?
Marcos said during the vice presidential debate, “I cannot give what I don’t have,”[11] which is contrary to the disclosure of the news. As of February 2016, the Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG) has so far recovered $4 billion of the Marcoses’ ill-gotten wealth but here he is dismissing what he called Cayetano’s baseless accusations, which is a manifestation of a weakpoint, as this is tantamount to saying that their clan had nothing to with the ill-gotten wealth that the government has been claiming.
Sen. Gringo Honasan, who previously said it is not right to blame Marcos for the “sin” of his father, said the issue is a judgment call he cannot make. While it is true that no one could blame the son for his father’s blunder as he was still a minor at the time of commission, it’s total different now that he’s already at the right age to gauge the unfair moves perpetrated in the past so therefore he is brilliant enough as a lawmaker to exercise his will on what has to be returned to the country. This is again a manifestation of a weak-point because Honasan plays safe on the issue than protecting the common good. As Sen. Cayetano says that they all say they fight corruption, but only a few appear in the hearings. It’s usually he and Sonny Trillanes who are left in those hearings. Everyone says they will fight even their uncle, a member of their party, but when there are hearings in Senate, Congress, they are not there.
Nonetheless, if Sen. Cayetano is engaged in the maladies of corruption then his singling out of Marcos as among the dishonest lawmakers in this country serves as a concealed weak-point on his part – hypocrisy than sincere advocacy.
Sen. Trillanes says that if elected he will focus on restoration of peace and order, anti-poverty, and the fight against corruption. He has the support of the Samahang Magdalo, a 500,000-strong socio-civic group that traces its roots to the Oakwood mutiny which the senator staged with other military officers in 2003.[12] How can he be effective on preserving peace and order when at one point he threatened its orderliness?” He just did not know how people had been traumatized when that incident happened. My sister during that time was working in one of the specialty stores in Glorietta where Oakwood Hotel is located, and she went home with face that could not be painted because of trauma. Unfortunately, she encountered two terrifying experiences in that place, the mall’s explosion which killed people and hurt 100 individuals and the latter.
PAGES
|
|
References:
[1] Oliver Teves, CNN Philippines, Corruption provides heat to vice presidential debate, Updated 07:05 AM PHT Mon, April 11, 2016
[2] Fiona Nicolas, CNN Philippines , Issue on corruption: A showdown between former friends Cayetano and Marcos, Updated 23:00 PM PHT Sun, April 10, 2016, http://cnnphilippines.com/videos/2016/04/10/Vice-presidential-debate-Candidates-discuss-corruption.html
[3] Jan Ballesteros, VP candidates agree: Internet speed must be improved, CNN Philippines, Updated 11:30 AM PHT Mon, April 11, 2016, http://cnnphilippines.com/news/2016/04/10/VP-debates-internet-speed-Robredo-Marcos-Escudero-Honasan-Cayetano-Trillanes.html
[4] Strength and peace: Vice presidential bets bare foreign policy plans, CNN Philippines Staff, Updated 12:20 PM PHT Mon, April 11, 2016
[5] Fiona Nicolas, CNN Philippines, VP candidates see FOI, law amendments as possible solution to corruption, Updated 23:20 PM PHT Sun, April 10, 2016, http://cnnphilippines.com/news/2016/04/10/Bongbong-Marcos-VP-debate.html
[6] Pia Bonalos, CNN Philippines, Improving public transport system will decongest Metro Manila - VP bets,Updated 23:05 PM PHT Sun, April 10, 2016, http://cnnphilippines.com/news/2016/04/10/vp-debate-vice-presidential-candidates-foi-law-amendment-solution-corruption.html
[7] Jan Ballesteros, CNN Philippines, Robredo says efficient mass transport system solution to Metro Manila traffic issues, Updated 12:36 PM PHT Mon, April 11, 2016, http://cnnphilippines.com/news/2016/04/10/vp-debate-corruption-showdown-cayetano-marcos.html
[8] CNN Philippines Staff, VP candidates' stand on death penalty for corrupt, same-sex marriage, and more, Updated 10:54 AM PHT Mon, April 11, 2016, http://cnnphilippines.com/news/2016/04/10/vice-president-spare-tire.html
[9] Alex Ho, CNN Philippines, Cayetano likens Marcos wealth to Napoles money,
Updated 20:55 PM PHT Sun, April 10, 2016, http://cnnphilippines.com/news/2016/04/10/vp-debate-vice-president-candidates-stand-on-issues-same-sex-marriage-political-dynasty.html
[10] Katerina Francisco, Who was overall winner of VP debate?, Published 9:28 PM, April 10, 2016, Updated 9:37 PM, April 10, 2016, http://cnnphilippines.com/news/2016/04/10/vp-debate-candidates-peace-in-mindanao.html
[11] Eimor P. Santos, CNN Philippines Staff, Marcos says he can’t apologize, give compensation to martial law victims, Updated 22:43 PM PHT Sun, April 10, 2016, http://cnnphilippines.com/news/2016/04/10/vice-presidential-debate-foreign-policy.html
[12] Jee Y. Geronimo, Antonio Trillanes VP Debate Preparations, Published 8:30 PM, April 06, 2016, Updated 9:35 PM, April 08, 2016, http://www.rappler.com/nation/politics/elections/2016/128726-leni-robredo-vp-debate-preparations
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment