MANILA, Philippines - Two days after the debate, the use of social media and new technology in ABS-CBN's Harapan: The Vice-Presidential Debate has earned both praise and criticism from various camps. (Read: High-tech tools for historic HARAPAN)

On Tuesday, Valenzuela 1st District Rep. Rex Gatchalian, spokesman of the Nationalist People's Coalition (NPC), claimed that many supporters of vice-presidential candidate Loren Legarda were unable to log on to the Harapan live chatpage just minutes before the debate started.

Gatchalian, who blogged for Legarda in the Harapan chat, said he also noticed that supporters of a rival candidate seemed to have infiltrated the chat early on and posted black propaganda about Legarda.

"Personally, without a doubt, some of those who participated in the chat kept repeating some of the black propaganda that have been circulating about Loren, including rumors that she voted to reduce the benefits of teacher, soldiers and nurses. Those same messages kept coming out in the chat even before a question was asked about teachers' benefits," he said.

He added: "I had to spend a lot of time answering those comments."

War over WARS

He also questioned how ABS-CBN chose its sample of viewers who used the Wireless Audience Response System (WARS) during the debate. "The technology is very straightforward. We at NPC feel that we were not appraised about how the people were selected, whether they represent the different sectors of society," he said.

WARS is a device wherein a pre-selected group can press 2 buttons: one button means they believe the candidate gave a truthful answer; the other means they believe the candidate did not give a truthful answer.
During Sunday's debate, a total of 180 declared non-partisan citizens from different sectors in 4 areas (45 in each area)—Metro Manila, Naga, Cebu, Davao—were given a WARS device and asked to vote on how much they trust a candidate's answer.

Legarda did poorly in ABS-CBN’s Harapan: The Vice-Presidential Debate, based on results of the WARS polls as well as online and SMS polls.

The NPC bet scored high marks in the WARS poll when asked about her plans on combating the El Niño phenomenon, but rated poorly on questions about her experience in governance, her plans on improving the state of education as well as protecting the environment. (Read: Loren gets poor audience response in Harapan VP debate)

Use of social media praised

New media consultant Carlo Ople, meanwhile, praised the use of social media in the Harapan debate. In his blog, Ople said social media allows ordinary people to react and even rebut arguments presented by the candidates.

"Social media makes politicians more accountable and transparent. It cuts through the thick layers of traditional political BS that we’ve been forced to listen to over the past few decades," he said in a blog post.

He added, however, that the next debate should include a panel of industry experts that will post their reactions on Twitter instead of using the WARS system.

Social media statistics

ABS-CBN’s Harapan: The Vice-Presidential Debate was the 6th highest trending topic on Twitter worldwide Sunday night, garnering a total of 8,870 tweets during the two-hour event.

The event also garnered 2,229 posts from 897 confirmed guests on the Facebook Halalan event page. The Halalan Multiply site was also viewed 326 times by 199 people while 63 comments were posted.

The Halalan chatroom drew a total of 4,373 readers who sent a total of 9,311 comments during the event. Of that number, 2,326 comments were published on the Halalan chat page.

Six candidates participated in the debate namely Jejomar Binay of the PDP-Laban, Bayani Fernando of Bagumbayan-Volunteers for a New Philippines, Loren Legarda of the Nationalist People's Coalition, Manuel 'Mar' Roxas III of the Liberal Party, Jay Sonza of Kilusang Bagong Lipunan, and Perfecto Yasay of Bangon Pilipinas.

Roxas got the highest rating in the Harapan online poll with 54% of those who participated saying he was the most credible candidate among the six.

He was  followed by Binay (13%), Fernando (13%), Yasay (11%), Legarda (4%) and Sonza (4%).

WARS users give varied reactions

Users of the WARS device in Naga City, meanwhile, said the system allowed them to see real-time responses to the answers of the candidates.

Student Abigail Caballero said the results of the WARS polls allowed her to see how other people felt about the responses of the candidates. "There were times when the poll results seemed to reflect what I felt and sometimes it didn't. Some of the candidates who were lagging in the surveys were also good," she said.

Rafael Duque Sr., general manager of Bicol Transport Service Cooperative Federation, said the debate allowed voters to make their own judgments about the candidates and not rely on just TV ads. "In the regions, there are so many ads and propaganda. Seeing the debate showed us the platforms of the candidates and it allowed us to choose who is capable," he said.

Ana Liza delos Martirez, principal of Don Mariano Abella Elementary School, also praised the "real-time" aspect of seeing the WARS voting results.

"Ang isa ko lang napansin doon, kahit naniniwala o hindi naniniwala sa sinasabi ng kandidato merong bias reaction kasi even though maganda sinasabi ng kandidato consistent siyang mababa," she noted.