Lacson calls 2nd Comelec presidential debate 'boring'

TAGBILARAN CITY — Senator Panfilo Lacson said the second presidential debate hosted by the Commission on Elections (Comelec) on Sunday was "boring" as he expressed disappointment with how the questions were formulated. 

On Monday, Lacson said on Twitter that the debate “wasn’t as exciting as most people who watched would have wanted," noting that the "questions were not direct nor specific, even unclear sometimes. Translation: Boring.”

Asked to expound on his observations, Lacson said at a press conference here on Tuesday that the new debate format resulted in participants addressing multiple subjects with each question.

“Confusing kasi yung mga questions. In one question, parang tatlo itong dapat mong i-address. Mabuti hindi ako yung unang sumasagot. Hindi ako nakabunot sa draw lots,” the presidential candidate told reporters.

(The questions were confusing. You had to address three things in just one question. It's good that I was not the first to answer. I did not pick it during the draw lots).

“I will suggest na gawing simple na lang at saka direct to the point yun ang napansin ko kaya naging boring ang discussion because yun nga everybody was confused na sagutin ang mga tanong,” he added.

(I will suggest making it simple and direct to the point. I noticed that the discussion became boring since everybody was confused as to how to respond to the questions.)

The Comelec modified the format for the second presidential debate.

The poll body posed one general question for all candidates to answer at the start of the program.

For each of the four succeeding segments, the candidates were divided into groups of three, and each group was given one question to answer. 

There were three questions for each segment.

The composition of each group was changed for every segment.

Each candidate was allotted two minutes or 120 seconds to answer a question, with 30 seconds added for a rebuttal.

A 60-second closing statement was given to all candidates at the end of the debate.

Nine out of 10 presidential bets participated in the two debates, with former Senator Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. skipping them. 

The poll body will conclude its presidential debate series, which began on March 19, with a town hall format on April 23.  —VBL, GMA News