MANILA, Philippines – Two neophyte vice-presidential candidates showed they could engage more experienced politicians in a debate held Sunday at the La Consolacion College in Manila.

Jay Sonza, the vice-presidential candidate of the Kilusang Bagong Lipunan (KBL), and Perfecto Yasay, the running mate of Bagong Pilipinas’ Bro. Eddie Villanueva, went up against four seasoned politicians in ABS-CBN’s Harapan: The Vice-Presidential Debate aired over Channel 2, ANC, Studio 23, and abs-cbnNEWS.com.

The debate featured a unique way of getting audience feedback. Randomly-selected citizens in Metro Manila, Naga, Cebu, Davao were given a Wireless Audience Response System (WARS) gadget which allowed them to rate whether they felt the candidate gave truthful or untruthful answers.

Sonza, Yasay on leadership

Sonza, a veteran broadcaster, urged voters who want real change to pick him since all of his rivals have been associated with the governments of Joseph Estrada and/or Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

Sen. Mar Roxas II of the Liberal Party (LP) served as trade secretary under Estrada and Arroyo.

Sen. Loren Legarda of the Nationalist People’s Coalition ran under the opposition ticket in 2004.

Bayani Fernando of Bagumbayan-Volunteers for a New Philippines was Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) chair under the Arroyo government.

Perfecto Yasay of Bangon Pilipinas was chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) during the Estrada administration.

Jejomar Binay is a leader of the United Opposition and is the running mate of former President Joseph Estrada.

“We can only have change and better governance if we don’t elect someone who has been associated with these governments,” Sonza said.

Meanwhile, Yasay urged voters to choose him since he is committed to truth and will fight abuses in government. As evidence, he said he fought and testified against the most powerful official in the country, then President Joseph Estrada, in his impeachment case in 2000. He said the country needs someone who is not afraid of anyone.

As a law graduate of UP, Yasay said he has had experience defending the oppressed. As former chairman of the SEC, he helped attract business investments that led to the creation of jobs. The Philippine Stock Exchange also became the “most profitable stock exchange in the world” when he was chair of the regulatory body.

Sonza on food security, character questions

Sonza, who hails from the food-producing island of Mindanao, said the country needs a leader who knows what the needs of farmers and fishermen are.

In response to a question from Roxas, Sonza said he agreed with the LP’s stand against rice importation. He said agricultural productivity can be improved by expanding irrigation.

He also said the government must make it easier for domestic investors to put up business enterprises, just as it opens up the economy to foreign investors.

In this round of questioning, the audience gave Sonza 46% rating in terms of truthfulness, 54% for untruthfulness.

Since the Kilusang Bagong Lipunan (KBL) presidential bet Vetallano Acosta has been disqualified by the Commission on Elections, Sonza was asked who he would support for the presidency.

Sonza replied by saying it was he who caused the disqualification of Acosta since he felt that he was not worthy of becoming president. He said the country needs a talented leader, especially one with creative management skills and imbued with Christian values. He urged voters to assess all the presidential bets on these bases.

During a round on character questions, Sonza was asked what wish he would tell a genie if the genie was President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. Sonza said he would ask that voters be enlightened on May 10 so that they can vote the right leaders into office. He said that if the people make another mistake, the nation will no longer be able to attain progress.

On this question, Sonza was given an 87% truthfulness rating, 13% untruthful.

Yasay asked Sonza what he thought about the vice-presidential surveys which show that they have the smallest chances of winning, Sonza said that “only 16% believe in surveys,” and that survey companies are only out to make a profit.

He added that the elections are still 7 weeks away, and urged voters to assess the qualification of the candidates.

Sonza to Yasay

During a round of the debate when it was Sonza’s turn to ask Yasay a question, the Bangon Pilipinas candidate was asked whether he might end up just helping the business community if he becomes vice-president considering that his background in public service has been as chair of the SEC.

If elected, Yasay said his duty would be to “protect the interests of the people and of the government. "In case of doubt, I will resolve in favor of the people,” he said.

Yasay, a lawyer, said if any of his former clients violate the law, he will make sure that they are made to account for their wrongdoing.

On this question, Yasay got a 46% truthful response from the audience while 54% said otherwise.

When asked by Sonza what national problem he would prioritize if he wins, Yasay said it would be to help farmers not just by distributing land but also by providing support services so that subsistence farmers can become net producers of food and food exporters.

If Bangon Pilipinas standard-bearer Eddie Villanueva wins, Yasay said the government would implement a zero-corruption policy, and the billions of pesos saved would go to agricultural reform and modernization.

When told that many governments have promised to solve corruption but failed, Yasay said Bangon Pilipinas will succeed since they are not afraid to do what is right.

Family first for Yasay

During the round of questions about the candidate’s character, Yasay was asked to rank what were the most important in his life—career, family, health, wealth.

Yasay said family was first, career second, health third, wealth fourth.

He said family is the most important because if the family is neglected, it contributes to the deterioration of Philippine society and adds to national problems.

Yasay said he is willing to give up his career for his family.

He said health was third because without it, he will not be able to serve his family nor have a career.

As for wealth, Yasay said it’s “not important to me.”

For his answer, the audience gave Yasay a 71% rating in terms of truthfulness, 29% untruthfulness.

Answers to questions from citizens

During the round of questions when a farmer asked what he would do to address the problem of El Niño and the high cost of agricultural inputs, Sonza said the Philippine Crop Insurance Corp. should be probed why it has not been able to help farmers.

He reiterated his stand against rice importation so that the government would be able to buy rice from farmers at a higher price. He also batted for post-harvest facilities so that farmers can sell their produce at the right time.

Sonza got a 91% truthfulness rating, 9% untruthful.

Asked the same question, Yasay lamented that farmers were at the mercy of middlemen. He said middlemen must be removed because they earn so much.

On El Niño, Yasay pointed out that many rivers in Mindanao are not dry, which means these waters can be tapped for irrigation.

Yasay said the country can be self-sufficient in rice, and alleged that rice importation was being done since it’s a big source of corruption. He also batted for entrepreneurial skills for food producers so they can sell their own products.

The audience gave Yasay an 80% truthful rating, 20% untruthful.

When asked by a public school teacher what he can do to address problems in education, Sonza said he would increase the Internal Revenue Allotment (IRA) of local governments to 80%. He lamented that Mindanao sends 60% of its income to the central government but gets only 11% in return.

On this question, Sonza got an 81% truthful rating, 19% untruthful.

Replying to the same question, Yasay said the government’s budget for education is only 2% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) when it should be 6%. He said the budget for education should thus be tripled.

Yasay also said the educational system should be geared toward making graduates entrepreneurs instead of just serving the job market. Entreprenuerial skills will enable graduates to put up businesses and create jobs in their communities.

On this question, Yasay was given an 69% truthfulness rating, 31% untruthful.

For his closing message, Yasay urged voters not to believe in surveys and to vote according to their conscience. He said the country needs leaders with moral courage and the political will to say no to interest groups.