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MANILA, Philippines – If televised debates, forums, and one-on-one interviews were school classes, guess who among this year’s senatorial candidates would get failing grades for excessive absences?
A University of the Philippines (UP) tally of the number of times senatorial candidates appeared in these types of shows found out: Nancy Binay of the United Nationalist Alliance never attended a single one of them, while Liberal Party’s Alan Peter Cayetano made an appearance just once.
UP tallied the number of times the senatorial candidates appeared on election-related shows aired by TV networks ABS-CBN/ANC, GMA-7, TV5, and Solar News.
The shows are as follows:
- Harapan 2013
- Harapan 2013: Senatorial Debates
- Headstart
- Umagang Hiritan
- Kandidato 2013
- Pagsubok ng mga Kandidato
- Paninindigan: Senatorial Forum
- News to Go In Depth
- Townhall
- Miting De Avance
- Aplikante
Binay earlier provided an explanation for her lack of appetite for such shows.
When challenged by rival candidate Risa Hontiveros to a public debate “anytime, anywhere,” Binay said she preferred to campaign on the ground to talk to people directly. “Let’s win the Senate race first, then we can debate on the Senate floor,” she said.
Binay disputed UP’s tally. She cited her appearance at the debates hosted by DZRH and by GMA Network’s Mike Enriquez.
“I dispute the claim that I didn’t join any forum. Almost every day, you get to talk to me, so it’s also not true that I’ve refused to be interviewed,” Binay told reporters on the sidelines of UNA’s sortie in Cabanatuan on Wednesday, May 8.
It’s another story for Cayetano though. His lackluster attendance didn’t seem to fit his position on airtime limits for political ads. Cayetano was at the forefront of calls to remove advertising limits for candidates of 120 minutes for all television networks, and 180 minutes for all radio stations.
Attendance vs voters’ preference
Among 32 candidates, 10 however should be awarded for having perfect attendance.
These are Eddie Villanueva, Christian Señeres, Ramon Montaño, Mitos Magsaysay, Ernie Maceda, Marwil Llasos, JC delos Reyes, Lito David, Teddy Casino and Greco Belgica.
But does a full attendance guarantee voters’ preference?
The senatorial candidates with full attendance did not make it to the top 10 slots in the SWS voters’ preference survey in April.
In fact, Señeres, Llasos, Belgica, and Falcone, some of the top debate attendees, had the lowest voters’ preference ratings.
Ironically, Cayetano ranked second with 52%, while Binay, ranked 3rd with 49%. – with Ayee Macaraig/Rappler.com
Visit #PHvote, Rappler’s coverage of the 2013 Philippine elections. Get to know the candidates through our comprehensive profile pages.
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