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MANILA, Philippines – Voters had another chance to get to know their presidential bets for the upcoming May 9 elections through the Panata sa Bayan: The KBP Presidential Candidates Forum held on Friday, February 4.
The forum is hosted by the Kapisanan ng Mga Brodkaster ng Pilipinas (KBP), which comprise some of the biggest news organizations in the country.
It was attended by five presidential aspirants – Vice President Leni Robredo, Senator Panfilo Lacson, Senator Manny Pacquiao, Manila Mayor Isko Moreno, and labor leader Leody de Guzman.
Of the six presidential aspirants invited by the KBP, only Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. backed out due to a “conflict in schedule”, which was met with ridicule from netizens.
As the bets took their turn to speak on several issues, netizens were not shy to criticize the forum’s format as multiple hiccups happened during the program.
All-male panel
Social media users pointed out that those who asked questions to the presidential aspirants were men.
The forum featured an all-male panel of seasoned journalists: Ed Lingao from News5, Roby Alampay from One News, Elmar Acol from Bombo Radyo, and Dan Andrew Cura from the Far East Broadcasting Company.
During a segment where KBP’s provincial news anchors got to ask questions to the presidential bets, all those who inquired were also men.
Sociologist Ash Presto said that a more diverse panel would have helped raise other matters during the forum, such as issues on women, child rights, and the LGBTQ+ community.
“Please, next time, ensure diversity of the panel members,” she told those who will hold future election forums or debates.
Facebook user Lisa Salanga-Sarte said that the panel should have been “50-50” in terms of composition of women and male panelists.
The only woman journalist present during the show was ABS-CBN’s veteran broadcaster Karen Davila, who moderated the discussion with CNN Philippines’ Rico Hizon.
This is not the first time that a presidential forum was criticized for lacking female panelists. A series of presidential interviews by DZRH and The Manila Times also featured an all-male panel.
Limited time for candidates’ answers
Netizens also said that the time for aspirants to answer questions from the panel – which was at one minute – was “very limited” for candidates to give their full thoughts.
“Why allot [one] minute per presidential candidate when the members of the panel consume most of the time,” Twitter user @nestgianan said.
Another Twitter user suggested that panelists should have their own timers to make sure that they aren’t wasting aspirants’ time to answer.
Hizon and Davila repeatedly reminded the panelists during the course of the program to keep their questions short and direct.
Other netizens suggested extending the timer for answers to up to three minutes and pause the timer when panelists ask follow-up questions.
Twitter user Patrick Mendones also compared the time situation to what happened in a series of interviews hosted by entertainment host Boy Abunda.
Candidates were not able to finish their answers, as part of the five minutes allotted per topic was consumed by Abunda’s follow-up questions.
However, Philippine Star associate editor Marichu Villanueva praised the KBP regional anchors for asking “better and direct questions” during their segment.
Other suggestions
Former ABS-CBN reporter Kevin Manalo suggested forum organizers assign a television production team for each candidate to prevent issues that happened during the broadcast.
Robredo had connection problems as she attended the forum in an office near an airport. She was supposed to visit areas hit by Typhoon Odette after the program.
Kontra Daya convenor and journalism professor Danilo Arao suggested media guidelines following the forum, which included not giving questions to the aspirants in advance and putting empty seats with names for absent bets.
Another Twitter user suggested that presidential aspirants be given the chance to respond to each others’ stances and answers on various issues.
As the election campaign season approaches, the KBP forum gives the public a look of what’s to come in future debates and forums and how they can be improved as the clock ticks towards a crucial election on May 9.
Here’s how other social media users reacted to the KBP forum:
– Rappler.com
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