Think Bits
This Holy Week is the perfect time to pray and meditate on the Passion and Crucifixion of Jesus Christ who died to save us from eternal damnation. I bet many people are planning their vacation this Holy Week instead of spending it in prayer and meditation.
Many of our people would rather be in the beaches during the Holy Week. I hope that Catholics would spend their time in prayerful meditation of Christ’s sacrifice rather than on beach outings.
I appeal to the Catholics, especially the youth, to join the Holy Week activities initiated by their parishes. I am sure that they will feel renewed in their faith. There are many more weeks of vacation time left for this year.
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Despite the one hour and 30 minute delay, last Sunday’s PiliPinas debate at the University of the Philippines Cebu campus was far livelier and longer at three hours than the first debate in Cagayan de Oro City.
The delay was caused by Vice President Jejomar Binay who brought his notes. The vice president argued that TV 5 news chief Luchi Cruz Valdes agreed he could bring his notes even if it was prohibited by the Commission on Elections (Comelec).
The debate provided more time for the candidates to amplify their respective positions and allowed the candidates to argue their positions and answer and press their points against each other.
The first heated exchange broke out between Binay and Sen. Grace Poe when Binay brought up the issue of her American citizenship and the implications of her renouncing Philippine citizenship and becoming an American. Poe retorted that it is better than to stay home and steal taxpayers’ money.
The second exchange between Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte and Liberal Party (LP) standard-bearer Mar Roxas had the audience and viewers rolling in laughter due to Duterte’s pointed barbs laced with humor at Roxas, the administration candidate.
Poe and Roxas also figured in a verbal sparring match when Poe questioned how Roxas can be trusted when President Aquino himself didn’t trust him on the operational details of the now infamous Mamasapano massacre that was led by resigned PNP chief Alan Purisima.
Roxas responded by saying that as chairperson of the Senate committee that investigated the incident, Poe is in a better position to know the facts of the case.
The second round was more exciting when Roxas questioned Binay on the Commission on Audit (COA) findings about the overpriced medicines bought for Makati City’s poor to which Binay retorted that Makati deserves the best medicines.
Suffice it to say that the second debate was far better than the first debate and credit goes to Cruz for handling the candidates better than Mike Enriquez and Jessica Soho, who hosted the first debate.
The first debate had the candidates rushing their answers and feeling panicked due to the time constraints. I also think they were overwhelmed by the event.
Cruz was both firm and gentle in her reminders to the candidates about the Comelec rules. Another good thing was that a panel from a different media outfit had the opportunity to ask the candidates some relevant issues.
It was so refreshing to see this kind of a debate where the candidates were allowed more time to show their capability to answer and amplify their answers and to exchange points with each other. Last Sunday’s debate can compare favorably with the series of debates in the US among the candidates of the Republican Party and Democratic Party.