Debates are for the electorate, not candidates
In an ideal world, debates should not be refused by candidates because they are not for their benefit. Debates are for the electorate. Debates will enable the electorate to check for the presence and confluence of the collective and individual competencies they look for in their candidates.
Take the case of the Senate. The Senate is a collegial lawmaking body. It is composed of senators, yes, but the Senate makes decisions as a body. It therefore matters what the composition of the Senate is. You want the Senate to represent and balance those interests and competencies that will enable it to give the best policy, given the overall context of challenges and opportunities facing the nation.
The Senate performs other strategic functions in an aspiring democracy like the Philippines. The Senate is arguably the primary mechanism for the political education of the Filipino people on national issues. The process of converting bills into laws is the core task of the Senate, which indeed generates a lot of information in committee and plenary deliberations that filter out to the public through the mass media.
But it is in the investigations that are televised that rivets the public to their television sets, tablets and mobile phones, much like the way they follow their favorite teleserye. Part of becoming a Filipino is stepping into a stream that includes hating or loving senators like Richard Gordon, Antonio Trillanes IV, Grace Poe and Leila de Lima.
Senators are also major sources of modern and innovative ideas on how this nation can move forward, in the political, economic, socio-cultural and environmental fields. Much of this they do as individual senators, fanning out across the nation, from city to countryside, speaking in media talk shows as resource persons, and in graduation ceremonies, business conventions, scientific gatherings, art and culture exhibits, etc. Such activities filter into public awareness, and engagement through the media, forums and publics. They give Filipinos a unique blend of knowledge and orientations, without which context they will not be able to perform their duties as engaged citizens of the Republic.
Prospective senatorial performance involves understanding the challenges and opportunities facing the Philippines, not only over a senator’s six-year term, but over the next 10-25 years. Apart from critical and innovative thinking required, the would-be senator should be able to present and defend his or her ideas in the Senate as a deliberative assembly, and in the arena of public opinion.
A prospective senator, as a member of a deliberative assembly, must also have a balance of vertical and horizontal competencies. He cannot just be a vertical specialist in one area as in sports, or police work, or movies and the arts, with no understanding of the big picture of the nation. Neither can he just be a horizontal generalist who is a jack of all trades and an expert in none.
There is no more straightforward way by which the electorate can comparatively assess senatorial aspirants than debates. A senatorial candidate who is not willing to participate in these debates is like a job applicant who refuses to be subjected to a panel interview.
Admittedly, given the “shy” candidates of the Duterte administration, an extra effort is needed to encourage them to participate. These forums should be made less intimidating, and have a more constructive and appreciative tone of inquiry
by designing and facilitating them as “joint and comparative presentation of multiparty programs to the electorate” (joint candidate forums).
The bottom line is, if our electorate is constrained to vote for senatorial candidates that they cannot examine or compare because they run away from debates or joint candidate forums, the country will likely end up with inutile senators—compasses that cannot point true north.
And that is where the impending tragedy lies. With President Duterte’s “magnetic” personality, the Senate will likely end up pointing to Malacañang. Joint candidate forums may be the last chance for the electorate to realize which candidates will compose a Senate capable of saving the Republic.
