With just a day away from the final leg of the presidential debates, final preparations were done on Saturday (April 23, 2016) at the Phinma University of Pangasinan to ensure the smooth flow of the third debate under PiliPinas Debates 2016 on Sunday (April 24, 2016).
A media briefing was held on Saturday afternoon, headed by Kapisanan ng mga Broadcasters ng Pilipinas (KBP) chairman Herman Basbaño, Comelec officer Atty. Joel Gines, ABS-CBN representative Kane Choa, ABS-CBN Integrated News and Current Affairs head Ging Reyes, and Pinky Colmenares of Manila Bulletin.
“I just hope we cover this event well. Let’s not forget we have another function, dissemination of information, by helping the public select the next president,” Basbaño reminded the media.
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The final debate will be following a town hall format, bringing in ordinary people to ask the candidates about issues affecting the country. University of Pangasinan has a 1,200 seating capacity, the largest among the three venues where the debates are held.
“Ang mga kababayan natin na galing sa iba’t ibang bahagi ng Pilipinas ay binyahe ang Pangasinan para personal silang makapagtanong sa ating mga kandidato na nanliligaw sa kanila,” said Reyes.
“Ang mga kababayan po natin ang magtatanong sa mga kandidato. Kung paano nila sasagutin ang problema na may pitong isyu. Una ang face-off segment, may oppurtunity na makibatbatan ang isat-isa. May pagkakataon na magtanong ang moderators sa kandidato,” explained Reyes.
Karen Davila and Tony Velasquez were named to be the debate’s moderators.
Colmenares, on the other hand, explained the process of photo dissemination to the media: “The Manila Bulletin shall make available to all media two photos of all the candidates taken either shortly before, or during the early part of the debate, after 6 p.m. of April 24 through mb.com.ph, and www.abscbnpr.com.”
Two percent or 40 minutes have been allocated for commercials out of the total 180 minutes in airtime.
All five presidentiables are set to share the same stage for the last time before one of them gets elected as the new president of the Philippines. Vice-President Jejomar Binay, Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago, Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte, Senator Grace Poe-Llamanzares, and former Department of Interior and Local Government Secretary Mar Roxas have all confirmed their attendance.
Sunday’s debate is organized by the Commission on Elections, KBP, ABS-CBN and the Manila Bulletin.
