Job applicants

Snubbing public debates worked for the UniTeam in 2022. On the other hand, attending debates worked for Rodrigo Duterte in 2016.

And getting to know applicants for elective office always works for voters, especially in this age of disinformation and the decline in the quality of Philippine education.

Debates can help level the playing field, allowing candidates who are qualified but relatively unknown and with modest war chests to shine against wealthy but unworthy rivals whose main qualification is their surname.

A nationally televised debate can give voters an idea of the capabilities and personalities, for example, of those who are seeking Senate seats, currently dominated by a largely disappointing bunch.

So it’s good to know that the Commission on Elections is considering making attendance of candidates in debates mandatory.

Obviously, this cannot be done for all elective positions, and the requirement cannot be applied to all debates staged by every Juan and Juana.

The Comelec will have to clearly define the debate parameters, and limit the attendance requirement to races with only a handful of candidates, such as in the contests for president and vice president.

A debate among the organizations vying for party-list seats can be unwieldy. As for the more than 60 Senate aspirants, perhaps they can be made to draw lots for division into groups whose members can then face off in a Comelec-approved debate.

Mandatory attendance can be limited to only one debate for the position at stake. The debate must be registered and coordinated with the Comelec.

For local posts, debates can be organized for the positions of congressman, governor, vice governor, mayor and vice mayor.

If mandatory attendance at debates cannot be implemented in time for the elections this May, the Comelec can prepare for such a requirement for the general elections in 2028, at least for the races for president and vice president.

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No talk, no mistake was among the strategies that contributed to the stunning victory of Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and his running mate Sara Duterte in 2022.

The pair snubbed all debates and gave interviews only to friendly folks and organizations.

On the other hand, in 2016, candidate Rodrigo Duterte saw his ratings rise steadily after he attended the presidential debate organized by TV 5 in Cebu.

The start of the debate was marred by inordinate delay – to borrow the current go-to excuse for the mass dismissal of the Marcoses’ ill-gotten wealth cases – after then vice president Jejomar Binay questioned the debate rules.

During the long wait, Binay’s rival Mar Roxas was in a snit and snapping at everyone backstage. Duterte, who had initially sent word that he would not attend the debate, left his rivals and walked onto the stage with a bemused look on his face. He saw me fanning myself at the interviewers’ table at the end of the nearly empty hall, waved and began cracking jokes – all while the live broadcast of the show continued.

It was vintage Duterte, putting his formidable natural folksy charm on full display to the nation. When the debate finally got underway, after a delay of over an hour during which tempers became frayed, his rivals pounced on Duterte for his human rights record.

Unfazed, an unapologetic Duterte poked fun at his rivals, bragged about his human rights record and even promised to kill, kill, kill, and to jet-ski to Panatag (Scarborough) Shoal.

We all know what happened: voters watched Duterte, who had entered the presidential race at the last minute, and liked what they saw.

After the debate, he was the only candidate who was mobbed by supporters outside the venue. In the next days, his rivals saw his ratings surge past the erstwhile frontrunner, Grace Poe.

The rivals scrambled to catch up, belatedly putting peace and order high on their campaign agenda. But it was too late; Duterte had become unstoppable.

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Candidate BBM was dogged during his presidential campaign by what he described as the sins of his “ancestors.” Did Imeldific complain about being described as ancient? BBM also skirted his tax evasion case involving his clan’s extensive real estate holdings, of which he was the administrator.

The Marcos camp then decided to control the campaign narrative, through the skillful use of social media – a tack that his opponents only belatedly caught on to and tried to use.

Complementing this approach was BBM’s steadfast avoidance of presidential debates. Inday Sara followed the UniTeam leader. As we have seen in her public appearances, she lacks the natural charisma of her father.

Today, however, with artificial intelligence facilitating the spread of fake news and malicious content online, people are increasingly learning to take with a grain of salt information obtained from social media – much of which is unfiltered, anonymous and therefore lacking accountability.

Even pop-up ads online promoting candidates can have the opposite effect, which is to annoy and turn off the recipients. Such materials are intrusive and irritating, like those campaign posters that assault us from electric poles, trees, utility wires and walls of government buildings.

Debates offer a credible platform for voters to get to know candidates. Job applicants must pass interviews before being hired. Why should applicants for government jobs that seriously affect our lives be spared from public grilling?