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THE Genuine Opposition (GO) on
Friday accused Team Unity of putting roadblocks to the debate
between their senatorial aspirants.
Adel Tamano,
spokesman for GO, said the Arroyo administration has accepted the
debate but has placed a lot of stumbling blocks to the proposal to
hold a public debate.
Tamano said
that if a debate was to be held, all people, from the upper class
way down to the masses, should be given access to watch and
participate.
He said the
administration refuses to include “real issues” like
extrajudicial killings, poverty, transparency and the legitimacy of
President Arroyo.
“They merely
wanted to debate on the economy, all about the GDP [gross domestic
product]. They refuse to debate about the real issues,” he said.
Tamano said
what the administration wants is to debate in front of businessmen
in a posh hotel and exclude the masses.
“It should
be open to the public and the masses. It should be done in Plaza
Miranda which can be seen by everybody not just the rich people,”
he added.
The
administration coalition rejected the proposal to hold the debate in
Plaza Miranda, where the GO held its grand proclamation rally last
week.
“If we will
hold it in Plaza Miranda, it’s a very open space. So even if the
audience is quiet and respectable, we might not be able to prevent
hecklers on the sidelines because the venue is too open,” Team
Unity spokesman Ace Durano said.
“Our only
interest is decorum. We don’t want [the debate] to become a
shouting match. So, as far as the other rules are concerned, the
venue or any kind of issues, we are open,” he added.
Durano urged
organizers to select a different venue for the debate such as a
hotel, barangay hall or municipal plaza. He said panelists should
field questions to the candidates.
He added that
Team Unity turned down offers to organize the debate to avoid being
accused of bias.
The proposal
for a debate came up after the opposition issued full-page
advertisements saying the administration’s claim of improving
economic conditions in the country was illusory.
James Jimenez,
Commission on Elections spokesman, offered to organize the debate,
saying that the poll body has the authority to organize such events.
Comelec will
also start “Comelec Hour” to be aired over ANC starting March
12. The show will give all candidates a chance to present their
platforms.
As far as
House Majority Leader Prospero Nograles, a staunch Arroyo ally, is
concerned, the issue of venue should no longer be a big deal.
Nograles said
he believes the government-controlled corporations who take the lead
and organize the debate the soonest possible time.
Another
administration ally, Rep. Douglas Cagas of Davao del Sur, said the
best venue would be television, and that the content of the debates
should “purely focus on economy.”
“They should
not talk of past issues,” Cagas said.
The Bayan Muna
party-list group proposed five topics for the debate:
1) Should
Congress legislate a P125 wage hike?
2) Should
Congress rechannel the budget for debt servicing to health,
education, housing and other social services?
3) What should
be done to put a stop to the extrajudicial killings?
4) Should the
Senate repeal the RP-US Visiting Forces Agreement?
5) Should
President Arroyo be impeached for cheating, stealing, lying and
killing?
--Francis Earl A. Cueto
and Maricel V. Cruz
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