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Leni's heels, Willie's notes, and other behind-the-scenes in the CNN PH debates

By NICK GARCIA Published Feb 28, 2022 5:11 pm

Elections22

The CNN Philippines' presidential and vice presidential debates have just concluded, where individuals vying for the top two highest government posts in the country laid down their platforms and vision in front of the camera. But far from the glare of the klieg lights, some of the candidates' unguarded moments also figured in social media.

The Feb. 26 event saw seven out of nine VP bets present: Walden Bello, Rizalito David, Manny SD Lopez, Willie Ong, Kiko Pangilinan, Carlos Serapio, and Tito Sotto.

The Feb. 27 event, meanwhile, had nine out of 10 presidentiables in attendance: Ernesto Abella, Leody de Guzman, Isko Moreno Domagoso, Norberto Gonzales, Ping Lacson, Faisal Mangondato, Jose Montemayor Jr., Manny Pacquiao, and Leni Robredo.

Bongbong Marcos Jr. was in Pangasinan for his campaign rally with running mate Sara Duterte-Carpio.

Lito Atienza, though he confirmed his attendance in the VP debates, begged off due to a knee replacement surgery.

Aside from the attendees' battle of wits and personality, there are also a number of moments outside the debate stage that are worth the public's attention.

Pacquiao and Robredo supporters 'bardagulan'

The Varsitarian, the official publication of the University of Santo Tomas, reported that a scuffle broke out between Pacquiao and Robredo supporters along Dapitan Street moments before the event started.

The video showed a woman clad in pink, the Robredo campaign's color, confronting a group of people in blue, the Pacquiao camp's color, as a giant screen behind them plays a video of the boxer-turned-politician.

The Pacquiao supporters can be seen dancing around the lone Robredo supporter, flaunting posters of him as they appear to tease her. A fellow "Kakampink" approaches her, but she walks out before things go out of hand.

"Welcome to the 84th UAAP CHEERDANCE COMPETITION!" one user wrote quipped on social media.

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAA SAYANG GUSTO KO DIN MAKIBARDAGULAN," another user wrote.

Robredo and Ong's notes

Robredo and Ong shared on their respective Facebook accounts the pages they wrote on while the debates were ongoing.

Participants weren't given the questions in advance and were also barred from bringing "kodigos" and phones on stage, though CNN Philippines provided pens and papers for them to jot down notes.

"Posting these for posterity. My notes from last night’s debate," Robredo said.

"The challenge is always how to encapsulate all you need to say in the 1.5 minutes given to you," adding that it's a "good thing" they were given pen and papers.

"Very useful in organizing my thoughts. Some of them I wasn’t able to use because they were not asked," she said. "Was just trying to anticipate some of the questions. Kung ako yung unang tinatawag, di na ako nkakapag notes dahil wala ng oras."

For Ong, "Lahat ng isyu sa debate pinag-aralan ko po. Puro surprise questions mula sa CNN at sinulat ko ng mabilis ang sagot na maintindihan ng tao."

"But I had scribbled answers to all of the questions. You need quick and sharp thinking to answer concisely within a short time or else they will cut your microphone," Ong added.

Robredo walks barefoot

After the event, Robredo shared a photo of her walking barefoot while holding her high-heeled shoes.

"[A] True leadership is stepping up and showing up... even if it means standing in heels for 3 hours," Robredo's Twitter account administrator wrote, followed by emojis of a woman tipping hand and cherry blossom as well as her campaign hashtags.

"Masaya yung kagabi pero di na ako sanay magsapatos," she also wrote on her Facebook post about her debate notes. "Di na ako mka lakad after 3 hours na nakatayo."

Her daughter Jillian also shared on Instagram Story a snippet of her mother walking barefoot.

"Di sanay magheels, pagod na si madam," Jillian wrote.

Leody and Walden supporting each other

De Guzman and Bello, who are currently trailing in the latest surveys, also showed up to support each other during the debate.

In the vice presidential debates, De Guzman was the only standard bearer who gave moral support to his running mate.

"At the #CNNPHVPDebate hyper si @WaldenBello hahaha," De Guzman wrote, referring to Bello's fiery performance in the event.

Bello was one of the key highlights of the VP debates, as he spiced things up by dropping F-bombs on Marcos Jr. and Duterte-Carpio, even calling them "cowards" and "idiots" for skipping the event.

He also rebutted Pangilinan and Sotto's answers on several issues. At one point, his microphone was turned off for interrupting them they were speaking.

Bello, in turn, returned the favor to his "hero" De Guzman the next day.

In another tweet, he congratulated De Guzman for his "great performance" as he also shared a photo of them.

"None of the survey leaders broke from the pack," Bello wrote. "It was only Leody who made gains. It was only he who condemned Marcos by name."

UST admin's PicCollage with presidential candidates

What's an event without a photo op? Well, a priest from UST understood the assignment and had snapshots with the candidates.

Fr. Dexter Austria, director of the UST Facilities Management Office, shared on Facebook his photos with all the nine attendees. He was wearing a custom yellow UST facemask and wasn't in his priestly attire.

BTS photos

CNN Philippines also shared some behind-the-scenes photos of the event.

The network shared profile photos of presidential candidates, as well as a group photo before the event started.

Special mentions

Marie Gonzales-Molina, daughter of Gonzales, meanwhile, paid tribute to her father after the debates.

"Although Dad did not have the opportunity to say as much as people, including myself, would have wanted to hear from him," Gonzales-Molina wrote, "he was able to answer all questions beautifully, true to himself and with evident wisdom."



"I truly believe God is with you," she said. "Thank you Lord!"

Lacson, meanwhile, thanked his supporters whom he called as "#kakamPINGtunay."

"Asahan ninyong pagtatagumpayan namin ng aking partner Tito Sotto," he wrote, "hindi lang ang debate kundi ang bawat Pilipino dahil kay Lacson-Sotto, panalo tayo!"

Pacquiao thanked CNN Philippines for an "event well-organized," as well as his fellow presidential candidates "for a lively, sensible exchange of ideas and opinions about the country's issues for the benefit and discernment of Filipino voters."

"Wine-welcome ko po ang oportunidad na maipahiwatig ang aking mga saloobin tungkol sa pagbabagong kailangan ng ating bayan," Pacquiao wrote. "Muli, maraming salamat!" followed by the Philippine flag emoji.

Twitter user @iampaulder also took the time to commend the network's backend technical team, which Hontiveros acknowledged.

"Yes! We have a great production and technical team who did so much work behind the scenes," Hontiveros wrote, as she tagged some of the individuals behind the event's success.

TAGS: elections2022 cnn philippines debates

About the author

NICK GARCIA

Nick writes about politics, law, health, entertainment, and pop culture, among others. Outside work, he's a wannabe musician and cook. Email him at [email protected].