Pinag-uusapan sa social media ang 'di umano'y pagwawala ni vice presidential aspirant Walden Bello sa naganap na SMNI Presidential Debate noong Martes, Pebrero 15.
Personal na dumalo si Bello sa presidential debate upang suportahan ang kanyang running mate na si presidential candidate at labor leader Ka Leody de Guzman laban kay dating Senador Bongbong Marcos Jr.
"I'll be there to see my hero rip the son of the dictator to shreds and share his vision of the Philippines' future with a national TV audience. Go, Leody!" ani Bello sa kanyang Twitter noong Pebrero 15.
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Gayunman, naging usap-usapan na nagwala umano si Bello dahil nasabihan umano na bawal mag "boo."
Bago mag-umpisa ang debate, pinaalalahanan ang mga audience na bawal mag-boo at sumigaw sa oras ng debate.
Sa isang Facebook post ni Bello nitong Miyerkules, Pebrero 16, nilinaw niya ang umano'y tunay na nangyari sa Okada Hotel sa Maynila kung saan ginanap ang naturang debate.
Sa unang bahagi ng kanyang post, inilarawan niya ang Okada Hotel bilang "unbelievably huge, garish, vulgarly opulent, and monumentally ugly." Napansin din niya ang pagkaing inihain sa kanila.
"I was at the hotel to lend support to my hero and running mate, Laban ng Masa presidential candidate Leody de Guzman. It was my first time at the Okada, which is built on reclaimed land at Manila Bay. The hotel is unbelievably huge, garish, vulgarly opulent, and monumentally ugly. There ought to be a law banning the building of such structures on aesthetic grounds," ani Bello.
"The food was, to be kind, awful, and I have reason to believe it was surplus food from the casinos in the hotel, the stuff they gorge people with when they're fixated, glass-eyed, on the slots, unaware of what they're ingesting," dagdag pa niya.
Ibinahagi niya na nakaupo siya sa bandang likod ng ballroom kung saan may mga taong nagchi-cheer kay Marcos Jr. Bilang pagsuporta kay Leody, sumigaw siya ng "that's my president!"
Nang marinig umano ni Bello na may nag-boo kay Leody habang nagsasalita, tinugunan niya ito ng mas malakas na boo.
"A few moments later, someone booed when Leody was speaking, so when Marcos spoke, I booed him loudly to warn that unruly crew that Leody's team would not take their disruptions lightly. It was a warning to these folks, most of whom, I later learned, were from Duterte's mad-dog anti-left gang, the NTF-ELCAC," ani vice presidential aspirant.
Dagdag pa ni Bello, nagsimula na umanong sumigaw ang isang lalaki sa security para paalisin siya sa ballroom. Minura rin daw siya nung lalaki.
"At that point one guy started yelling at the security to throw me out of the room. I told him nicely to shut up. When he kept on cursing me and urging me to be thrown out, I went up to him and told him, F__Y___," ani Bello.
Hindi nagpatinag si Bello kaya't nilapit niya pa umano ang kanyang mukha doon sa lalaki.
"When he glared and cursed me, I put my cheek very close to him, daring him to hit it or kiss it, saying, "salpukin mo na o kiss mo ako." I just wanted to give him an outlet for his aggressiveness. I was simply giving him the choice: hit me or let's kiss and make up," dagdag pa niya.
Pinalabas ng security ang kaaway niyang lalaki ngunit tumindig siyang hindi siya lalabas at sinabing hindi siya dadalo sa vice presidential debate kung palalabasin siya.
"By that time dozens of Okada security people converged on us and tried to throw both of us out. My tormentor was thrown out, but I resisted their trying to get me to leave the room and said I would not show up for the vice presidential debate next week if they dragged me out, and dared them to drag me out by clasping my hands together as if handcuffed," anang ka-tandem ni Leody.
"Obviously, these people had no training in dealing with non-violent resistance and were at a loss on how to respond," paglalahad pa niya.
Pinasalamatan niya si Atty. Luke Espiritu, kandidato sa pagka-senador sa ilalim ni De Guzman, dahil sa pangungumbinsi nito sa mga security na tigilan siya ng mga ito.
Gayunman, tila may patutsada siya sa Okada dahil muntik na siyang maligaw palabas.
"But boy, the Okada is something else. I almost got lost making my way out of that labyrinth. Once elected vice president, I will definitely push Congress to enact a law banning the construction of such monuments to bad taste."
Samantala, kinansela ng SMNI ang vice presidential debates na nakatakda sana sa Pebrero 22 upang magbigay daan sa round 2 ng presidential debate na gaganapin naman sa Marso 26 sa Okada, Manila.
Hindi na nagulat si Bello tungkol sa naturang kanselasyon.
"SMNI, the Quibuloy station, just cancelled the Feb 22 vice prexy debate. Unfortunate since this would have given me a chance to engage Sara in a policy debate. Not surprised. After Leody's win on Tuesday, the Marcos-Sara camp obviously wanted to avoid a double debacle. Sayang." ani Bello sa kanyang Twitter nitong Huwebes, Pebrero 17.
Ang SMNI ay pagmamay-ari ni Pastor Apollo Quiboloy, founder ng the Kingdom of Jesus Christ na nasa “most wanted list” ng FBI. Suportado rin ni Quiboloy ang tandem nina Bongbong Marcos Jr. at Sara Duterte-Carpio.
