Presidential debate will crystalize policies and choices

After three months of negotiation and preparation, and barring last-minute hitches and bumps, the proposed presidential debate on domestic and foreign policy organized by the Carlos P. Romulo Foundation will definitely take place at the Asian Institute of Management (AIM) in Makati on Thursday, January 14, starting at 10 in the morning. This is to the credit of the candidate participants and all those involved in making it happen.

Sen. Richard Gordon, Sen. Manuel Villar and former Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro are to be congratulated for graciously agreeing to take part in the two-hour forum and provide the Filipino public and interested foreign observers a glimpse of their policy views on major issues of national and international affairs. This is to the service of the nation and to their campaigns.

Regrettably, two other candidates – former President Joseph Estrada and Sen. Benigno Aquino III – who were invited to join the forum as early as October last year, begged off a few days ago citing conflicts with their schedules.

Notwithstanding their absence, we expect a lively and enlightening discussion among the three candidates on board. We gathered as much in the meeting last Tuesday of the candidates’ representatives and the organizers. The candidates expressed their eagerness to discuss the issues through their representatives. And they readily agreed to a format that is crisp, to the point and allows for interaction among the candidates and the audience.

From the first, our objective in organizing the forum was to elicit from the candidates their policy ideas on major issues of concern to the nation. It complements earlier forums among the candidates by combining for the first time domestic and foreign policy issues. This is important at this time because national and global affairs interact so heavily in the life of nations. We are happy to learn that the candidates are also eager to share their policy views with the nation and the world.

As earlier discussed in this column, the forum will focus on five broad topics for discussion: the situation in Mindanao and Sulu, Philippine foreign relations and international security, Philippine economy and international economic relations, Filipino migrant workers, and Philippine competitiveness in the world.

The forum will be moderated by Ricky Carandang of ANC. There will be a question panel composed of Ambassador Rodolfo Severino, head of ASEAN Studies Center, Institute of Southeast Asian Studies in Singapore, Philippine Star editor and olumnist Amy Pamintuan, and CNN correspondent Jaime Floro Cruz.

Under the rules approved by the candidates’ representatives and the sponsoring organizations, the panel will question the candidates on the five main issues during the first hour of the forum. In the second hour, the audience will join the panel in asking questions of the candidates. In the final segment, the candidates will each deliver a three-minute closing statement to sum up their policy positions and make their appeal to Filipino voters.

Interest in the forum even while it was still in the making was already high. When word got it that is all systems go, the offices of the CPR foundation were swamped with requests for seats. Given the limited capacity of the AIM Conference Center (300 audience members at most), it will be impossible to accommodate them all.

Those who can’t be accommodated can follow the event on television. The debate will be broadcast live by ANC on cable TV and by ABS Studio 23 on free TV. This will enable our citizenry and foreign residents the opportunity to witness the presidential face-off blow by blow.

The interest generated by the debate reflects the high importance of the 2010 elections for our people and our country. Nothing at this point is more important to the nation than the coming balloting. Speaking for ANC, AIM and the Romulo foundation, we are glad that we will be able to contribute in some way to the discussion of issues and policy views before our people go to the polls.

Save Philippine Sports

WHENEVER I touch on the subject of Philippine sports, the pulsemeter of this column for readers’ reaction always jumps up a notch – perhaps far more than my sports expertise deserves. I do so again today in the hope of helping to resolve the terrible rut ailing our sports today.

Last Monday, the Inquirer did the nation a great service with its editorial calling the Noynoy Aquino’s attention and the nation’s to the sorry leadership of Philippine sports by former Congressman Jose Cojuangco Jr. as president of the Philippine Olympic Committee (POC). While the editorial specifically took off from our dismal performance in Laos, the truth is that we have been failing in international competition for many years now, and our shortcomings last December were already anticipated by many, yours truly included.

The Inquirer’s prayer is that Senator Noynoy will dissociate himself from his uncle’s policies and do something to help correct the situation and lift the impasse currently prevailing. Everyone understands the message to mean that Noynoy should quietly nudge Congressman Cojuangco to graciously leave the POC presidency, along with his cohorts, and leave the task of leading Philippine sports to serious sportsmen and younger hands.

So far, Noynoy has treated the editorial with stony silence. Congressman Cojuangco has replied indirectly by saying NO to an overture from the Philippine Sportswriters Association for him to patch differences with Chairman Harry Angping of the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) for the sake of RP sports. Peping insists that he has done nothing wrong, so there is nothing to talk about or patch up.

It is his state of denial about the dismal situation of Philippine sports today that lies at the root of the problem. Nothing can go forward because he believes he is doing right by the nation. This is the reason why many are lighting candles in churches around the country that the congressman will finally see the light. Or that Noynoy will see the stakes here for his candidacy.