The Mindanao leg of PiliPinas Debates 2016 was held on February 21, 2016, and hosted at the Mini-Theater Building of the Capitol University in Cagayan de Oro, Philippines. It was hosted by the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) with the assistance of KBP (the Filipino broadcasters' association), GMA Network and the Philippine Daily Inquirer (GMA had been a KBP member from 1970s/80s until the network withdrew from its membership in 2003, but it can be come back once the KBP-equivalents will be established elsewhere in Asia).
By late January 2016, all presidential candidates had confirmed their attendance to the Mindanao events. This included Roy Señeres, who was still vying for the presidency at the time before withdrawing his candidacy in early February.
The debate was attended by all five presidential candidates. In a separate venue, 1,500 people, or 300 supporters for each candidate, were allowed to watch the debate at the university's gymnasium.
The coverage of the debates took 135 minutes from 5:00 p.m. – 7:15 p.m. (UTC+8). 48 minutes of time was devoted to advertisements.
Broadcast and coverage GMA-7 provided nationwide coverage of the Mindanao leg. GMA Pinoy TV broadcast the debates in Middle East, North Africa, Europe, United States and Canada live and in the Asia Pacific region with a slight delay. Super Radyo dzBB provided radio coverage of the event, along with all KBP-affiliated radio stations nationwide, which were asked to broadcast the debate.
GMA made a 360-degree livestream available for the event using a proprietary technology developed by GMA New Media Inc. This was the first event in the Philippines to be made available via 360-degree live video streaming.
The debate was presented by anchors Jessica Soho and Mike Enriquez of GMA News and John Nery, editor-in-chief of Inquirer.net. GMA News also hosted discussions over its social media accounts on Facebook and Twitter, where users could follow and talk about the debate. The Emoji Meter system was made available for viewers to react to the candidates during the debate.
GMA's accounts on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Viber provided exclusive content related to the event which was not part of the broadcast, such as backstage video and live audience interviews during breaks.
Provincial media concerns Provincial media expressed concerns over what they saw as an "exclusivity clause" imposed by the Manila media to squeeze out the local press; only five slots were allocated for local editors and publishers in the debate hall itself, with another five slots for newspaper reporters to sit in the debate's media center. This prompted the Cagayan de Oro Press Club to issue a "Statement of Indignation" and point to prior suggestions for a boycott of the debate by regional media, which it ruled out. Rodrigo Duterte, one of the presidential candidates, threatened to boycott the debates if the issue was not resolved, though he ultimately participated.
Format The main issues tackled were agriculture development, poverty reduction, charter change and peace and order. The debate followed a modified two-moderator format, modeled after the Republican Party's presidential debates of the United States 2016 elections.
There were three rounds of questions, and candidates were paired in each round. For each pair, the first candidate was given 90 seconds to answer the question asked, then the paired candidate had 60 seconds to express his or her rebuttal and the first candidate then had 30 seconds to reply to the rebuttal.
Debate
Opening statements Each candidate was given 60 seconds to deliver their opening remarks. Jejomar Binay highlighted poverty issues and his record as mayor of Makati. Santiago noted that, while the country is rich in natural and human resources, it is one of the poorest in Asia. Duterte promised to eradicate corruption, drugs and crime in six months. Poe promised to allocate 30 percent of the national budget to Mindanao if she were elected, while Roxas compared selecting a president to choosing a bus driver.
First round: Track Record The pairing was determined alphabetically by the participants' surname. Santiago was sorted according to her double surname (Defensor Santiago), and Roxas, the last candidate, is paired with Binay, the first.
Binay noted that he has no ill-gotten wealth, having inherited his land assets from his parents. Defensor Santiago rebutted, asking Binay when he got the properties during his term as mayor of Makati. Binay stated that he got these properties during his stint as a legal counsel and through the help of his wife, Elenita Binay, who also served one term as mayor of Makati.
Senator Santiago answered that she is still qualified to run for president despite her battle with stage 4 lung cancer, noting that there is no provision in the 1987 Philippine constitution that prohibits a public official from running for health reasons. Duterte did not debate with her during the rebuttal, saying "I don't see Sen. Santiago passing away within the next 20 years”. Santiago, later commented that no politician except for Duterte had a record in resolving graft and corruption cases.
On his planned "bloody" presidency, Duterte vowed to continue killing the criminals and drug lords in accordance with the law with the help of police and the military. Despite having several partners, the mayor denied any accusations of lasciviousness. In response, Poe said that Duterte, who admitted he was a womanizer, needed to respect women. She vowed that her so-called "Gobyernong May Puso" (Government with a Heart) would respect and fight for the rights of men, women and the LGBT community.
Poe quoted a line from a song from Gloc-9, "Upuan", in her address. She also stated that she worked together with Defensor Santiago in pushing and creating senate bills on budgets for food for children and farmers, as well as the Freedom of Information Bill. Roxas replied that the presidency is not on-the-job-training. Poe countered, saying that Roxas, despite working for three administrations as a secretary of DTI, DOTC and DILG, did not need more experience to catch up on the lack of developments in the transportation sector by the government.
Roxas was questioned about his incompetence in handling the issues of MRT and Haiyan (Yolanda). Roxas stated that during his term as the DOTC secretary, more than 100 contracts on infrastructure projects worth 100 billion were put out for bid without any anomalies. On the MRT, Roxas said that he stopped the supposed maintenance contract with a private firm due to an anomaly. Roxas claimed that the MRT's newly commissioned trains would be in service by March. Roxas defended his record on the rehabilitation of areas affected by Typhoon Haiyan, noting that he was there, before, during and after the typhoon, unlike other politicians who arrived via helicopter but later departed like a tourist. Binay then responded in a comment that he is a "decisive and effective leader" and remarked that he saw a lot from his helicopter regarding the effects of the typhoon.
Second round: Poverty & Development The order of candidates was determined by a draw.
If elected, Binay said that he would implement an agricultural modernization plan with the help of the private sector, noting the industry's small contribution to the gross domestic product. He wants to continue the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (government subsidies) for the benefit of farmers, shipping high-yielding crops and the removal of irrigation fees; he also seeks to solve post-harvest problems through programs that he implemented while mayor of Makati. Poe, on her rebuttal said that there should be "agro-industrial zones" established by the DTI and DA, to assist in marketing basic commodities, soil testing and replanting coconut plants using the coco-levy funds.
On the matter of food for the poor, Poe declared that she wants to provide free lunch in public schools, subsidies for rice farmers on irrigation and others. Poe pointed out that as the fifth largest coconut producer in the world, her government will be focused on the replanting of coconut plants using the coco-levy funds that will also be used in scholarship programs for the children of coco farmers. She also said that agro-industrial zones where farmers can sell their products should be established by the Department of Trade and Industry and the Department of Agriculture. Santiago replied that there is no president or even a candidate that has an extensive antipoverty campaign.
Santiago suggested to expand the national budget in key areas, including health, education, rural infrastructure and improvements to social welfare; she also wanted to have constantly lower income taxes and abolish real estate taxes. Roxas replied that the government under the Aquino administration had continuous comfort and success in the fast-growing economic growth of the country and he wanted to continue the safety net programs, particularly for PhilHealth beneficiaries. Santiago replied that the other candidates' plans are all "promises way up in the sky".
Roxas cited high-interest loans as one of the reasons why Filipino fishermen are part of the "poorest of the poor" people in the country. Roxas mulled low-interest loans and investments in new technology including fish finders (radars), post-catch facilities (chillers and packaging), and infrastructure for fishermen. Duterte, in his rebuttal, agreed and noted he wanted to copy Roxas' modernized plans for the fisheries system. Roxas, questioned on his two decades in government, responded that he is not a corrupt public official and pointed to his anticorruption efforts in the "Daang Matuwid" (Straight Path) program.
For his part, Mayor Duterte said that he wants to eliminate rice cartels and 5–6 (practice of loan sharks) loans in the farming system in just three days. He is willing to resign and put his life and honor as President at stake if he failed to improve the corruption and crime situation in the country within three to six months. Among his other plans for the farmers were supplying funds (via LandBank) and setting up food terminals, credit unions and cooperatives. Binay said the smuggling crisis is a symptom of a problem-starting, indecisive and ineffective leader, noting that the Mindanao problems, including the rotational brownouts, all stem from a lack of action by local officials.
Third round: Mindanao Issues The order of candidates are determined by a draw.
Duterte noted that 60% of the infrastructure projects were from Metro Manila and just 19% were allocated to the Mindanao region, which contributes to the country's export and agriculture industry. Duterte reiterated that federalism is a solution to the issue on the Mindanao budget, vowing to end Manila-centrism in government. He points that the government should give Mindanao a larger share of taxes. Roxas on the rebuttal said that he would focus on the construction of bridges (particularly in Zamboanga del Sur); he made it clear that Mindanao has twice the amount of infrastructure projects in the 5 years of the Aquino administration, compared to the last 12 years of Estrada and Arroyo administrations. Duterte responded that there is no "Tuwid na Daan" (lit. Straight Path), reiterating that Mindanao has a small share of the national budget.