APRIL 23, 2015

NR # 3810

Solon hopeful of Presidential Debate Commission bill enactment

in 16th Congress for 2016 elections
A lawmaker remains optimistic about the enactment into law this 16 th Congress of
her proposal to create a Presidential Debate Commission in time for next years elections.
Rep. Estrellita B. Suansing (1st District, Nueva Ecija), said her proposal embodied
in House Bill 5269, or the proposed Presidential Debate Reform Act, which she filed
last year, will benefit presidential and vice presidential candidates as it will afford them a
great opportunity to present before the voters their platforms and positions on issues that
affect the country, and also clarify matters facing the candidates themselves.
I hope it will merit the approval of Congress and the President during the
remaining months of the 16th Congress so we can already have a Presidential Debate
Commission in place prior to the May elections. The Presidential Debate Commission
shall obligate all presidential and vice presidential candidates to participate in the debates,
and thus, will help the voting population discern who to vote for, said Suansing.
The bill has already been referred to the House Committee on Government
Reorganization, and has a counter-part measure, Senate Bill 1797, filed by Sen. Miriam
Defensor-Santiago.
Committee and plenary discussions of the bill will all the more highlight its
relevance, said Suansing, a vice chairperson of the Committee on Women and Gender
Equality.
Suansing said the right of the people to information on matters of public concern, as
provided in Article III of the 1987 Constitution, reinforces the equally important right to
suffrage. A well-informed voting population would be able to carefully and intelligently
choose their future leaders, said Suansing.
Suansing further said this important right of the people is also recognized under
Sections 90 and 93 of Batas Pambansa 881 otherwise known as the Omnibus Election
Code of the Philippines.
HB 5269 seeks to complement these elections-related laws by seeking to establish a
Presidential Debate Commission which shall be composed of six members appointed as
follows: (a) One member shall be appointed by the Speaker of the House of
Representatives; (b) One member shall be appointed by the House Majority Leader, who
shall not be a member of the Majority leader's political party; (c) One member shall be
appointed by the President of the Senate; (d) One member shall be appointed by the
Majority Leader of the Senate; and two members shall be appointed by the President from
among a list of nominees by the two dominant political parties.

The members to be appointed in the preceding items (a), (b), (c), and (d) shall not
be members of the same political parties from which the appointees of the President will
be selected. Furthermore, not more than three appointees shall come from any political
party and that the appointees, shall as much as possible come from the different sectors.
Candidates for President and vice President shall automatically be disqualified from
becoming members of the Commission as well as their relatives within the fourth degree
of consanguinity and affinity.
The Commission shall establish a schedule of debate based on the following: one
preliminary debate; not more than two vice presidential debates; and two to four
presidential debates. It shall decide on the format of the debates based on the most
effective way to provide the most useful information about the candidates to the voting
public.
Moreover, the Commission shall closely monitor all other scheduled debates for
presidential and vice presidential candidates initiated by the mass media or other
government agencies or private organizations, and submit a report evaluating the
effectiveness of said debates.
It shall also coordinate with the different government agencies charged with the
enforcement and administration of all laws relative to the conduct of elections to ensure
free, orderly and honest elections, and with other organizations or associations concerned
with the elections.
The Commission, after considering all the submitted evaluation reports, shall
formulate guidelines for the adoption of a debate format, which will best achieve the
policies adopted by the Act. (30) rbb