Fact checking the Luzon Presidential Debate

1. Santiago: Yes, kanina binanggit ko na magkakaroon tayo in the next six years a new capital city, somewhere near Clark area. And in that city, there would be not only a new government center like the one they have in Malaysia, an IT Park but also an educational center.

True. Complements existing government plans.

In 2014, the National Economic and Development Authority approved the “Roadmap for Transport Infrastructure Development for Metro Manila and Its Surrounding Areas," which is part of the so-called "dream plan" to decongest Metro Manila and to bring development to other urban centers as part of the Greater Capital Region.

The plan identifies areas north of Metro Manila - Clark, Subic and Tarlac - and south - Batangas City, Lipa City and Lucena - to develop as regional development hubs that will be connected to the capital by railways and expressways.

Under the plan, Clark Green City "is expected to serve the core for development of the regional cluster in the Central and Northern Luzon. As the cluster is already provided with a competitive international gateway port and airport, key success ingredients are to accelerate urban and industrial development. The CGC should function as an independent city and connect directly with growth centers internationally."

2. Duterte: Yes. I said, 'immediately.' What I will do is I will call the [House] Speaker and the Senate President after their elections and everybody, may Constitution na doon, internal. Then I will call all, mostly, the majority, mga Liberal congressman, you pass this bill immediately. Senate, sabihin ko, “I need it first week of my administration.” Ganoon lang. Gawin ninyo.

Says who? Rules say otherwise.

Not a false statement so much as it is difficult to do. The president cannot dictate on Congress, a co-equal branch of government, to pass legislation and it is improbable that both Houses of Congress will be able to pass a bill within a week.

Bills have to be filed and then referred to a committee. That committee then holds hearings with stakeholders and resource persons to come up with a committee report that will have to be debated on and approved on the session floor. Once passed on third and final reading by both Houses, a bicameral conference committee must still reconcile the Senate and House versions of that bill for ratification by their respective chambers.

Once that is done, the bill will be sent to the Palace for the president's signature. But even that will not make the law automatically applicable, since it still has to be published in the Official Gazette, or in a newspaper of general circulation, 15 days before the law can take effect.

It is unlikely that this can happen within the first week of a new president's administration, even assuming that both chambers of Congress have finished electing their leaders and filling committee memberships. There is a possibility that the Liberal Party will be in the majority in Congress if Duterte beats their standard-bearer in the presidential race. Conversely, a congressional majority by a party other than Duterte's can mean that his legislative agenda can be blocked if majority of the lawmakers are against it.

Duterte's supporters have repeatedly pointed out, that the mayor is prone to hyperbole and - as Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano has claimed in a TV interview - is prone to being misunderstood because he "thinks in Bisaya," so he may not have meant the statement literally.

3. Binay: Mga kababayan, nakakalungkot ho ang reaction ninyo. Alam po ninyo yung Ampatuan ay tinaas ko ang kamay. Wala po doon sa pagkakataon nung pangyayaring siya ho ay nahabla.

True. Witnesses say Sajid Islam Ampatuan did not participate in the crime.

Sajid Islam Ampatuan, son of late clan patriarch Andal Ampatuan Sr., was granted bail by a branch of the Quezon City Regional Trial Court in 2015, saying it did not see "strong evidence of guilt" based on witness testimonies.

The younger Ampatuan, now running for mayor of Shariff Aguak town in Maguindanao, was only present while the massacre - where 58 people were killed - was allegedly being planned.

"Taking into consideration this silence and non-participation notwithstanding the fact that he gave P2,000 to a witness for the latter to buy fish, the court finds, in its exercise of sound discretion, that the totality of the circumstances presently fails to reach the threshold of strong evidence of guilt," RTC Judge Jocelyn Solis-Reyes wrote in the 12-page order, which also denied bail to other suspects in the Maguindanao Massacre.

Reyes said, though, that the grant of bail does not mean the suspect is innocent or guilty. That has yet to be determined as the case is being tried.

4. Davila: Name your top campaign contributor. Sino siya?
Duterte: Nasa bukid ma'am.
Davila: Anong pangalan sir?
Duterte: Emilio Aguinaldo, I think.

Vague. This doesn't answer the question at all.

Clearly, former President Emilio Aguinaldo cannot be secretly financing the Duterte campaign from beyond the grave. Netizens have already posted their theories on what Duterte meant by "Emilio Aguinaldo," with some saying it is Latin and Spanish code to mean that that Davao City mayor's biggest donors are the common people. The fact remains, however, that Duterte has been secretive about who is funding his campaign.

Candidates are not required to file their sworn Statements of Election Contributions and Expenditures (SOCE) until 30 days after the elections, or by June 8, 2016.

5. Davila: Palpak ba ang administrasyong Aquino sa pagresolba ng tanim-bala scam?
Roxas: No. Iniimbestigahan nila at papanagutin nila kung sinong may - dapat na managot.

Says who? The scam is reportedly back.

The "tanim-bala" scam, where bullets were allegedly planted in the baggage of some travelers and visitors to the Ninoy Aquino International Airport terminals caused widespread concern in 2015. The Palace downplayed the incidents, where airport security staff reportedly asked for money from those found with bullets in their bags, and called them isolated cases.

The scam has reportedly cropped up again, with the latest alleged victims being an elderly couple. http://www.philstar.com/headlines/2016/04/25/1576587/doj-sets-probe-latest-tanim-bala

The investigation into the scam is still ongoing, but Roxas' statement was met with boos from some in the crowd.

6. Binay: Tulad sa Makati, walang mamamatay na mahirap dahil sa sakit. Ito ay naranasan ko. Ang pakiramdam mo, naramdaman ko rin kasi ang nanay ko namatay, namatay sa cancer of the breast. Dahil sa kakulangan ng aming pera, hindi halos napagamot.

False. That's just impossible.

Binay has been highlighting Makati's healthcare assistance for indigents throughout the campaign, so he may have meant that poor patients can get free medical care under a Binay administration.

7. Roxas: Pinapangako pa lang nila, ginagawa na natin. Halimbawa, 'yung trust fund na sinabi ni Mayor Duterte. Eh, meron na tayong mahigit P1-bilyong trust fund sa PhilHealth para tugunan ang lahat. Last year, PhilHealth paid out P75 billion para sa 6.5 milyong pasyente na binayaran niya. Ngayon po, sinabi naman ni Senadora Grace, zero-based billing na po tayo para sa mga pinakamahihirap na mga kababayan natin.

Not quite. Basis unclear since PhilHealth claims higher figures.

The Philippine Health Insurance Corp. said in a statement in March that it had paid out P97 billion in benefits in 2015. On its website, it said that the money was paid out to close to 8.4 million claims, 33 percent of which were made by indigent and sponsored PhilHealth members. These members have their premium payments shouldered either by the national government, by a local government unit, or by government officials.

More than half of the sponsored members - 51 percent - availed of no-balance billing, which sets the costs of medical procedures and treatments for indigent and sponsored members and prohibits hospitals and doctors from charging more than the set rate.

Also in March, PhilHealth president and CEO Alex Padilla said that PhilHealth had reserve funds of P128 billion in 2015, up from P112 billion in 2012. PhilHealth announced that it had picked a local bank to manage a P1-billion trust fund but also said that that was just part of the state-run healthcare corporation's reserve funds.

8. Binay: Sa akin, sa aking palagay, yan hong lasting peace na yan eh makakamit kung mahaharap po natin ang problema ng kahirapan na naglipana po doon sa inyong lugar. Iyan po ang pinagmulan kung bakit ho meron hong gustong umalis, ito ho ay gumagamit ng dahas para ibagsak ang pamahalaan. Pero, ang puno't dulo po nyan ay 'yung kahirapan.

False. It's about historical injustice too.

Davao City Mayor Rodrigo was right when he said that the conflict in parts of Mindanao "runs deep" and that it is rooted in injustice. Although addressing poverty and poor access to government services is part of the government's peace plan, it also recognizes that acknowledging and correcting historical injustices in Mindanao - the Moro peoples were not conquered and became part of what is now the Republic of the Philippines through a treaty - and granting Moros and indigenous peoples there a degree of self-determination.

In his speech at the signing of the Comprehensive Agreement of the Bangsamoro in 2014, Moro Islamic Liberation Front Chairman Al Haj Murad Ebrahim said the agreement "finally brings with it the restoration of the identity, powers and resources of the Bangsamoro. These three things which have been ours since time immemorial and unjustly taken through colonization and occupation are now returned to us."

He did not mention poverty, although he said that he hopes the signing of the agreement brings "an age of lasting peace, justice and prosperity."

9. Santiago: There had been a lot of black propaganda against me, most recently in the recent months that I have withdrawn because of my cancer. I have already shown you that I am what I am now. I am what I was today.

False. No reports of that.

Although the media did report that Santiago would miss the Cebu leg of the presidential debates because she would participate in clinical trials for a pill against cancer - a disclosure that her own office made - there have been no reports of her withdrawing from the presidential race.

She has released statements alleging unnamed polling firms have removed her name from the list of candidates that respondents could choose from, but has not named specific survey firms. Her name has been included in reports on those surveys, where she has been getting around 2 to 3 percent of respondents.  - Jonathan de Santos, quotes based on official transcript provided by Manila Bulletin