All 5 bets present take their oath or “Panata sa Bayan,” pledging their commitment for clean and peaceful polls, as well as to rid the country of corruption and prioritize nat’l interest in case of victory
(Eagle News) — Six presidential candidates of the country were invited in the “Panata sa Bayan,” the presidential candidates’ forum of the Kapisanan ng mga Brodkaster ng Pilipinas (KBP) on Friday, February 4, 2022 scheduled from 9 a.m. to 12 noon.
Except for former Senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., the five other presidential bets attended the live virtual event to present their platforms and to answer questions from four panelists.
The five presidential candidates who attended through online means were Vice-President Leni Robredo, senators Panfilo Lacson and Manny Pacquiao, Manila Mayor Isko Moreno Domagoso, and labor rights activitist Leody de Guzman.
The event was moderated by broadcast journalists Rico Hizon and Karen Davila. The four panelists are Elmer Acol of Bombo Radyo, Roby Alampay of One News, Dan Andrew Cura of Far East Broadcasting Corporation, and Ed Lingao of News5.
“Anim sa mga tumatakbo sa pagka-pangulo ang ating inimbita. Lima ang nagkumpirma, hindi makakasali sa forum na ito si dating senator Ferdinand Marcos Jr. Ayon sa kanyang media bureau, puno na ang kanyang schedule,” moderator Hizon said at the start of the forum.
In the first part of the event, the candidates were given five minutes each to present their platform of government. After this, each of the panelists asked the candidates round robin in the segment called “one-on-one” where the bets were given a minute each to answer the question; then, all four panelists asked each of the bets in the segment called “Q & A four-on-one.” The next segment is called “KBP Town Hall” where representatives of 20 KBP chapters from various regions of the country get to ask their questions to all the presidential candidates present at the forum in two rounds.
During the first part of the forum, Robredo had problems with her internet connection.
-Bets take their oath before the country, or Panata sa Bayan-
At the end of the forum, the five presidential bets took an oath committing themselves to clean, orderly and peaceful elections, and in case of victory would work for a clean government that would prioritize the interests of the country and the Filipino people, especially the poor.
The candidates also signed the document containing their pledge and showed the signed document via Zoom.
The Marcos camp claimed the former senator had a conflict in schedule as reason for not being able to attend the live event.
In a statement, Marcos’ chief-of-staff Atty. Vic Rodriguez said that “although we have been looking forward to BBM’s participation in this event, his current schedules prevent us from accommodating your request.”
“We look forward to engaging with similar KBP initiatives in the future,” he said.
In consideration of health protocols, all the invited bets in the KBP event presented their platforms and answered questions through virtual or online means, via Zoom, and they were not required to be physically present.
The event is carried or broadcast live by all KBP member media organizations, both TV and radio stations, and streamed live on their various social media platforms.
(Eagle News Service)