The presidential debate that was supposed to start at 5 p.m. has been delayed for over 30 minutes now.
The reason: Vice President Jejomar Binay (United Nationalist Alliance) was reportedly allowed to bring in notes during the debate and the other candidates protested.
Mar Roxas (Liberal Party), Sen. Grace Poe and Davao Mayor Rodrigo Duterte protested because it was against the rules, according to two sources who asked not to be named.
Unlike his three competitors, Binay was also the earliest to arrive at the University of the Philippines Performing Arts Hall inside UP Cebu in Barangay Lahug, Cebu City.
He went inside the two-story building at 4 p.m., an hour earlier of the 5 p.m. scheduled PiliPinas 2016 debate and proceeded inside the debate hall on the second floor to have a sound-check.
He and his team then went down 15 minutes later and went out of the building.
Among the four candidates, only Binay had a sound check prior to the debate proper.
The security personnel at the UP Performing Arts Hall were strict especially in the number of entourage allowed in each candidate.
Each candidate can only bring six staff members to go with him or her at the VIP area and then the debate hall since the area could only accommodate 300 people. But each candidate were allowed to bring 15 supporters to watch inside the debate hall.
Roxas of Liberal Party, however, brought in more than six people. The rest of his entourage were not allowed to get inside the door. Even presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda, who was with Roxas, was almost not allowed to get in and had to wiggled himself in between the door panel as the guards about to close it.
Duterte, who was the second earliest candidate to arrive next to Binay, was in a jovial mood. Clad in a Barong Tagalog over blue jeans and leather shoes, Duterte was all smiles when he got inside the building and raised his fist as he walked to the stairs.
UP President Alfredo Pascual was already giving his welcome remarks inside the debate hall at 4:38 p.m. when Sen. Grace Poe in a white dress walked into the building.
After a short waved, she walked fast to the second floor to join with the other presidential candidates.
Shortly after Poe arrived, Binay walked in to the UP Performing Arts Hall for the second time.
Outside the UP campus, supporters of the candidates at the soccer field to cheer for their bets during the debate that would be beamed live through the wide screen TV.
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