Duterte’s 2nd debate performance: Few explanations, all political will

Pia Ranada

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Duterte’s 2nd debate performance: Few explanations, all political will
He may not be the best public speaker, but Duterte's selling point to some voters may be that he's more of a doer and not a talker

MANILA, Philippines – There are many ways to gauge how Rodrigo Duterte fared in the second presidential debate held in Cebu City on Sunday, March 20.

One way is to assess his public-speaking abilities. Seasoned debaters tapped by Rappler to judge the presidential candidates on their oratorical prowess unanimously named Senator Grace Poe the best speaker of the debate.

Compared to Poe, Duterte cited fewer statistics and research, gave shorter explanations, and was more roundabout in answering questions. As he admitted after the debate, he is a “bullet point” type of speaker.

Even when asked about his campaign promise to suppress crime and drugs in 3 to 6 months, Duterte was unable to lay out a detailed plan. He opted to say that his achievements in Davao City proves he can do it. (Read Duterte’s platform here.)

But will his lack of public speaking skills turn off voters? 

Not necessarily, says multi-awarded debater and political analyst Nicole Curato.

“Part of the Duterte mystique is he doesn’t talk much. He will just make these promises that in 3 to 6 months [he would end crime]. When you start unpacking that, when you start explaining that, it reduces the mystique, because he is about action, he is not about talk.

“So if that’s the kind of politics you’re after, you’re after the politics of ‘I will, don’t ask questions, I will not explain this to you, I will just do it,’ then maybe looking at the debate is not the best way for you to judge a candidate if you are partial to that kind of leadership,” she said in a post-debate discussion with Rappler’s Patricia Evangelista.

Another champion debater, Glenn Tuazon, thinks Duterte’s responses during the debate defy efforts to rank him relative to the other candidates based on oratorical skills alone.

“He’s basically unrankable and unjudgeable in a debate, and I say this in a positive notion because, for instance, he says, ‘I’m not here to debate about policy. If the other candidates have a good policy, I can adopt it, I’ll just make sure I implement it better.’ And that’s not going to work in a regular debate. You can’t start conceding everything and say you’re just going to do it better,” said Tuazon.

‘Just do it’

Indeed, instead of explaining himself, Duterte repeated his mantra of “I will do it” or “just do it” several times in the debate.

Case in point: when rebutting Grace Poe on whether the coco levy fund should be given to farmers, Duterte criticized the roundabout way the issue was being addressed.

“There is a Supreme Court decision, eh bakit ikotin uli? This here is rigmarole, actually. Why don’t you just say, isauli mo sa coconut farmers? Tapos. (Why is the decision being turned around? This here is rigmarole, actually. Why don’t you just say, you will return it to the coconut farmers. Done.)” said Duterte.

Duterte’s emphasis on political will, not just original, nice-sounding platforms, was evident in his closing statement:

“I can tell you now that I will provide leadership — not only the platforms, but leadership. And maybe copy the best of their programs at ayusin ko (I will fix it). What’s good in this program, Grace, even Mar, I will adapt it if it’s good and leadership, I will do it.”

 

Closing statement: Rodrigo Duterte

Davao City Mayor Rody Duterte makes his closing statement. Follow rappler.com/phvotedebates for more live coverage #PHVote #PiliPinasDebates2016  #PHVoteDuterte

Posted by Rappler on Sunday, March 20, 2016

 

Tuazon said Duterte’s no-frills answers may even be a selling point to voters who want a doer more than a talker in a president.

“His selling point is ‘I have the political will, I have the support, I can get things done in 3 to 6 months and if you give me the keys to this country then I’m going to pull it off,’” he told Rappler’s Evangelista.

More combatative 

The voting public was also treated to a more combatative Duterte, a departure from the first debate where it seemed he played it safe, according to a political analyst.

Duterte appeared to take more risks in the Cebu debate.

In a round that dealt with the Freedom of Information bill, Duterte took a jab at Vice President Jejomar Binay, who is hounded by corruption allegations.

He dared the vice president to sign a waiver allowing the public to view his bank account details, a waiver he and his running mate Alan Peter Cayetano had signed.

He then decided to be “totally frank” to Binay, daring him to withdraw if proof of his corruption surfaces. 

Sir, marami kang kaso sa COA pati sa Ombudsman, public knowledge naman yan, at ako naman ay sinasabi ng UNA na may technical malversation. Ang tanong ko, if you can produce [proof] pirmahan namin ‘yan tapos kung may kaso ako, we will withdraw from the presidency.

(Sir, you have many cases with COA and the Ombudsman, it’s public knowledge. As for me, UNA says there is a technical malversation. My question is, if there is proof, we sign it, and they also file a case against me, we will withdraw from the presidency.)

 

Duterte to Roxas: You are a pretentious leader

Davao City, Philippines Mayor Rody Duterte to administration standard-bearer Mar Roxas: You are a pretentious leader.For for more live coverage: www.rappler.com/phvotedebates #PHVote #PiliPinasDebates2016

Posted by Rappler on Sunday, March 20, 2016

 

Duterte’s feistiness again flared when Roxas questioned the peace and order situation of Davao City.

On stage, Duterte called the Liberal Party standard-bearer “pretentious,” “a fraud,” and a “weak leader.” Like in previous statements to the media, the Davao City mayor accused Roxas of not showing true leadership during the aftermath of Super Typhoon Yolanda.

He was friendliest to poll front runner Senator Grace Poe. But in the second round of the debate, he posed a question that appeared to test her mettle against a national security issue. Poe has previously been criticized for lack of experience.

Duterte wanted to hear her first 3 steps should China bomb Philippine Coast Guard boats. Unsatisfied with her first response, which focused on big picture issues, he pressed her for concrete action points.

Charismatic

But if the debate was also a test of how well candidates keep their cool, Duterte surely passed.

Of all the candidates, he appeared the most unfazed, not as affected by crowd reactions compared to the 3 other candidates.

He was even able to crack a few jokes in between, perhaps giving the impression to some that he wasn’t taking the debate too seriously.

Video footage of the long wait before the debate proper showed Duterte making the crowd laugh with his snide jokes to Roxas and friendly banter with Poe.

This is all part of Duterte’s appeal. He may not be the best public speaker but he gets points for engagement.

Can Duterte depend on his political will and charisma to win the seat in Malacañang? What are the costs of his refusal to elaborate? – Rappler.com

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Pia Ranada

Pia Ranada is Rappler’s Community Lead, in charge of linking our journalism with communities for impact.