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Letter to the Editor

ILIGAN City––More than an hour passed and the debate haven’t started yet. That was on Sunday, March 20. It was supposed to begin 5 pm.

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TV 5 anchors Cheryl Cosim, Prof. Dindo Manhit and two others had to explain to the millions of unseen viewers. “May inaayos lang,” Cosim said. And they filled the gap by reading some comments from the social media which were mostly not good for said TV network as the flak was on them. Somebody from another room in the studio though explained a tabulation on the rankings as to who were favored by social media.

The rankings were given: l. Mayor Rodrigo Duterte, 2. Mar Roxas, 3. Grace Poe, 4. Jejomar Binay and 5. Miriam Defensor Santiago.

And then Cosim said that “huwag lang kayong masyadong mainip. Nandiyan nang tatlo.” She was referring to Duterte, Poe and Roxas.

Ah, so it was Binay who caused the delay.

Cosim then told viewers in a rather cautious way that there was a “misunderstanding” on the part of Binay that he could bring notes to the debate. “Pinaplantsa pa.” She said referring to the matter as to whether it was okay. It was learned that the Comelec per its rules did not allow such. But the Binay camp had called days before said date had called TV 5, Comelec’s partner in the undertaking and that Luchi Cruz Valdez of the TV network had told them it was okay. Thus Binay’s bringing of some notes.

Luchi though gamely admitted to that. By and by the debate really started, to the relief of the viewers, and mostly, the anchors who kept saying in their defense that they had been ready “since yesterday yet.”

A plainly nervous Valdez then moderated the debate.

There was a portion during the debate that, with its “improved” format, the four (minus Santiago who could not make it for health reasons) pounced on each other.

With Binay’s seemingly excessive baggage on graft and corruption, he had to come with–he did not call it notes but “documents.” The three did pounce on him, especially Roxas. The three though had their share of the pounding, Poe on her citizenship issue, Duterte on his methods, and Roxas on his “Daang Matuwid” claims.

After the debate, the “before” scene was shown to the public with the three in a somewhat friendly banter. They were already seen standing before their respective rostrums. Minus Binay. And they explained that it was articulated to them even before that it was really understood that the rule per Comelec’s was that there would be no “notes.”

Poor Binay. Poor poor Binay. Need we say more?

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