MANILA, Philippines - Rival senatorial candidates Pilar Juliana “Pia” Cayetano and Teofisto "TG" Guingona III on Sunday engaged in a "proxy war" as each one was forced to defend their chosen standard-bearer.

Asked what she will do about the numerous corruption allegations leveled against Nacionalista Party standard-bearer Manny Villar, Cayetano said she is convinced that all of the allegations against her standard-bearer are politically motivated.

“Lumabas lamang po ang mga alegasyon na iyan nitong bago siya tumakbo at nag ta-top sa survey," she said.

She also said her own track record in the Senate would show that she has never tolerated any wrongdoing by her fellow lawmakers. She said that as a senator, she would work to bring more transparency in the national budget and repeal the President's power to withhold funds from opposition lawmakers.

"Kahit na ang pangulo ko ang nakaupo, sisiguraduhin ko na magiging accountable siya at makikita niyo na you can count on me on this. Even when I was in the majority, umiba ang boto ko sa [value-added tax]. When the majority voted for the JPEPA, I also opposed it. Dun po ako pumapanig sa tama lang," she said.

She added: "We will be a fiscalizer to ensure that there will be no graft and corruption. We will do our best to eradicate this problem."

For his part, Guingona was forced to defend Liberal Party presidential bet Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino III's track record in Congress. He said that while he only worked with Aquino during the latter's last term in Congress, he said he is convinced with Aquino's commitment to change when the latter supported moves to impeach President Arroyo for various corruption scandals.

“Si Noynoy Aquino na-testing na yung mettle. Noong kailangang magsalita, nagsalita ka ba? Nagsalita si Noynoy. Noong kailangang tumindig, tumindig ka ba? Tumindig si Noynoy. Noong kailangang manindigan, naindigan ka ba? Nanindigan si Nonoy”, Guingona said.

He added that the character of Aquino is more important than the number of bills he passed while in Congress.

Cayetano, Guingona tackle poverty

Instead of opposing views, Guingona and Cayetano both agreed that the national budget is vital in diminishing the level of poverty in the Philippines.

Guingona pushed for higher budget allocation for education, food and health particularly in Mindanao. He said he has a microlending program for women in his own district in Bukidnon.

Cayetano said she has passed various laws to combat poverty including the Cheaper Medicine Law, Anti-Hospital Detention Law and the Food and Drug Administration Law.

She said that if she is re-elected, she would focus on revisions in Philhealth especially since Philhealth cardholders are still forced to pay high premiums.

She said she also wants to reallocate P120 billion in unprogrammed government funds, which could be used for education, health and poverty reduction.

Results of Wireless Audience Response System (WARS) voting, meanwhile, showed that a majority of audience members were more impressed with Cayetano's answers than her opponent.

In the first round of debates, 86.2% of the WARS audience said they believed Cayetano's answers compared to only 39.3% for Guingona. The NP senator also got high marks in the 2nd round, with 84.7% of the audience saying they believed her. Guingona, on the other hand, had 43.2% of the audience saying they believed him while the remaining 56.8% said they did not.