Vice Presidential bet and Senate Majority Leader
Alan Peter Cayetano took a swipe at Vice President Jejomar Binay Sr. for
allegedly delaying the presidential debates on Sunday (March 20).
The second round of the debates, which was held at
the University of the Philippines (UP) campus in Cebu City, was supposed to
start at 4:30 in the afternoon but started more than an hour later due to
unforeseen circumstances.
The delay was reportedly caused by some candidates
seeking last minute modifications on the rules of the debate. Several reports
claimed that Vice President Jejomar Binay, in particular, wanted to bring notes
with him, but debate organizers would not allow it. The Binay camp also
reportedly wanted to remove corruption among the issues to be tackled.
Cayetano, for his part, lambasted Binay for trying
to alter the rules of the debate, which he said shows clear proof that the Vice
President would do anything to evade corruption allegations being thrown
against him and his family.
“He is running for president but he can’t even
debate without notes? How can the vice president present himself as this
country’s next president if he cannot even participate in a debate where
corruption is among the most important issues?” the senator stressed.
“The mechanics have been clear since day one. The
Comelec rule since the first debate was that there should be no notes. But with
what transpired today, we just saw a glimpse of what a Binay leadership will
bring to the country – a total disregard for established rules,” Cayetano
added.
