Aquino open to debate with Villar

by Gil C. Cabacungan Jr. (Philippine Daily Inquirer)

http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/nation/view/20100215-253371/Aquino-open-to-debate-with-Villar

MANILA, Philippines—Liberal Party standard bearer Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino III on Monday challenged his closest rival, Nacionalista Party (NP) standard bearer Manuel Villar, to a one-on-one showdown on campaign issues to show the public who was the better man.

In an interview with reporters after the Foreign Correspondents Association of the Philippines (Focap) presidential forum, which Villar did not attend, Aquino said he was willing to give the NP bet the privilege of choosing what subjects to tackle in their debate.

"I really want us to have a real debate, where we will be battling each other from the start," said Aquino, who added that he was not satisfied with current debate formats where all nine candidates for president participate. "Our countrymen, who need to be educated, probably lose their concentration or attention in long-winded debates."
"I am leaving it to him (Villar) to choose the topic, whatever he likes. I am comfortable here, we are supposed to have some degree of competence in all aspects," said Aquino.

He said he was willing to go one-on-one or even one-on-three, possibly to include other frontrunners such as former President Joseph Estrada and former Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro.

The latest surveys show Aquino and Villar in a close race to win the presidency on May 10. Estrada and Teodoro were third and fourth, respectively.

"We want to go beyond the sound bites," said Aquino.

Aquino admitted that he was frustrated with the limited amount of time in public forums to expound on his platform of government. He said he might join one or two more public debates with all candidates on stage, after which he would attend only those forums with a limited number of participants to give each of them more time to speak.