Former Bacolod congressman and gubernatorial aspirant John N. Orola, said that he accepts the debate invitation of the UP Law Alumni Association – Negros Occidental Chapter co-hosted by the Philippine Daily Inquirer, to be held at the University of Saint La Salle Saturday morning, January 15.
He, however, prefers a face to face direct debate with his rival only, and no other aspirants present, Orola said in a press release Thursday, January 13.
The debate is not just a face off of ideas of persons, but a frontal demonstration of their character, sincerity, integrity, and whether or not they talk sense or not, he said.
“Faceless, or connected by internet frequencies, which are often blurred by erratic electronic wave frequencies, or simply hardly real time encounter, debate becomes a vulnerable tool of manipulation and deceit which will defeat the real essence of debate,” he said.
The current Alert Level 3 of Bacolod remains manageable, and debaters can still observe health protocols, making a face to face debate not only possible, but would really be lively and entertaining, Orola said.
Orola earlier called event organizers to reconsider his request for a preferred face to face debate, than just a zoom room system.
Orola insisted that the target viewers and listeners may not be able to see the sincerity, truthfulness and integrity of his rival, incumbent governor Eugenio Jose Lacson.
Under such arrangement his rival might be aided by electronic gadgets, teleprompter teams, or coaches, and it will thus defeat the essence and purpose of debate which is frontal confrontation, no guides and props, and simply extemporaneous, he said.
He hopes the organizers redo the rules to make the debate truly fair and square according to the format of a Town Hall meeting, which the Duterte administration has already practiced with its successful conduct of consultations nationwide on the administration development agenda, Orola said.*