The Kapuso special provided a vivid albeit incomplete profile of each of the four presidential aspirants, but it also gave solid proof to Soho’s almost faultless caliber and credibility.

Last night, January 22, Filipinos are glued on their television screens and gadgets, to witness what could be noted as the first major election-related TV special before the 2022 national polls.

GMA Network’s Presidential Interviews come amid the still harrowing pandemic, with millions of Filipinos still burdened by the rising COVID-19 cases and the constricting safety protocols enforced on the vaccinated and the unvaccinated alike.

Filipinos went through months that saw the lives and livelihoods of many going to waste, as well as the people’s mental health deteriorating. Hope is on another level that this special will somewhat provide a clear picture about which one should get the vote, although three months is still too long not to turn things around for any candidate.

Frankly, the special didn’t succeed much at offering the voters novel answers on the urgent concerns that most believed should be tackled head-on by the aspirants. We have seen Vice President Leni Robredo, Senator Manny Pacquiao, Manila Mayor Isko Moreno, Senator Panfilo Lacson, and even the absentee frontrunner, Bongbong Marcos, share their two cents about certain matters, although consistency has never been with most of these candidates since they filed their COCs.

That said, the Jessica Soho-hosted special reminded us where these would-be presidents stand on several important issues. Their answers now and their future behavior should only point Filipinos to doing what’s right, come election day. Whatever direction they will eventually pursue, we need to be reminded that we can never make the same error again.

Our major takeaways from the special.

Jessica Soho, as expected, went all out in asking the toughest of questions.

Some of these questions were already previously asked and were only mostly asked again to either see if there were changes in the candidate’s stance or clarify their previous statements that may have been misinterpreted.

The West Philippine Sea.

Soho brought to the table 2016 The Hague ruling on the West Philippine Sea dispute.

Lacson suggested an alliance with countries with strong military capacity, should the Philippines decide to aggressively pursue the case. Robredo seemingly echoes such sentiment by proposing a coalition between nations against China’s militarization of the disputed territory.

Pacquiao responded with a more general approach, suggesting the country should resist bullying from China. He also proposed dialogues between countries. Moreno, on other hand, conveyed his desire to strengthen military presence in the region, although most of us may be wondering how can that be implemented, especially after we witnessed how the current Administration failed to meet the pandemic with a fulfilling response.

EJKs as drug war aftermath.

Sen. Pacquiao encouraged Filipinos to ‘respect’ the drug war and its repercussions, which drew a glaring disconnect from his support for the sanctity of life, which he repeatedly declared in his previous interviews.

All other candidates, VP Robredo, Lacson, and Moreno, believe EJK exists, with both Moreno and Lacson vowing to pursue justice for the victims.

Are you in favor of same-sex marriage?

Moreno was quick to answer ‘no’ to the question, although we noticed his wristband that bore the pride colors.

Both Lacson and Robredo had to explain their ‘no’ response, clarifying they’re in favor of same-sex civil unions, but not of church weddings.

Pacquiao, regardless of his vaguely-supported stance on the issue, reaffirmed his disapproval of the proposition, although we’re not sure if he sees the line that separates civil unions from church weddings.

Government’s Pandemic Response.

All attending presidentiables offered thoughts on the government’s response to the current pandemic.

Pacquiao said funds must be have been properly allocated from the very onset of the pandemic; Moreno centered his argument on aid distribution and called out the government’s inefficiency.

Robredo, on the other hand, pointed out the lack of urgency, noting that the worst could have been avoided if the right and early responses to the pandemic were carried out, at the earliest possible time.

Lacson underscored the importance of a science-based strategy and argued that the government should take a research-driven approach.

Peace Talks with CPP-NPA.

All four candidates agreed that negotiations with the CPP-NPA must push through to achieve long-lasting peace and order. We are yet to learn a more comprehensive strategy in handling insurgent groups and terroristic activities carried out by various groups across the country.

PH-US Visiting Forces Agreement.

All the presidential aspirants expressed their willingness to continue the visiting forces agreement with the United States. The special failed to remind the four about Jennifer Laude and her link to the VFA, though.

Jessica Soho’s no-holds-barred questions.

It’s important, to recall that Bongbong Marcos no-show to the interviews was due to his camp’s claim–Soho’s alleged bias against Marcos, to which GMA Network responded with a reminder that: “The questions are tough because the job of the presidency is tough..”.

Soho did throw the toughest of personal questions.

The host’s straightforward questioning allowed us to see what a future with any of these Presidential aspirants sitting at the Malacañang would look like, while also allowing us to disprove Marcos’ camp, ourselves.

The number of several personalities expressing their support and commendation for the seasoned Kapuso journalist is also solid proof that disproves Marcos’s claim.

Thanks to JESSICA, I’m so EXCITED for the DEBATES! @gmanews really set the benchmark! Great job! What an excellent start!

— Richard Heydarian (@Richeydarian) January 22, 2022

All I can say is the #JessicaSohoInterviews showed us the true character of all five leading candidates. Yes, all FIVE.

— 范鴻志 RICHARD JUAN 홍지 (@richardjuan) January 22, 2022

Great presidential interviews by @KM_Jessica_Soho ! Tough, comprehensive questions, well-executed!

Sad that Bongbong Marcos declined to join. For a presidential frontrunner, he doesn’t look very brave.

— Pia Ranada (@piaranada) January 22, 2022

The amount of research for this presidential interview.

— Anjo Cagmat Alimario (@anjocalimario) January 22, 2022

Below are snippets of the questions asked to and answered by the presidentiables:

Robredo got reminded of her controversial statement about vote-buying.

She never really gave a straightforward answer, but she provided a scenario to prove that the practice is rampant. She then suggested strict rule implementation to ensure that it won’t happen again.

Soho also questioned her running as an independent candidate when she vowed to become a unifying and rebuilding agent for the Liberal Party.

She answered this issue by clarifying that she never really left the party. She is running as an independent candidate so that her slate can welcome candidates from various parties, thus promoting unity and inclusivity. She also addressed the prevailing notion that suggests the President must be someone with an iron fist by dismissing gender as an indicator of someone’s capacity to pull off good governance.

Soho quoted Pacquiao when he said ‘…masahol pa sa hayop ang nakikipag-relasyon sa parehong kasarian’, and asked if his stance already changed.

He clarified that he was misquoted and he underscored the presence of LGBTQIA+ members in his camp to prove he’s on good terms with the group.

He was then asked about his stand on same-sex marriage, to which he gave his disapproval, noting his strict adherence to what the Bible dictates.

Lacson’s one-on-one interview with Jessica Soho primarily centered on the subject of honesty.

The Kapuso journalist reminded the Senator of President Duterte’s statement which teased the public about the dirty secret he knows about Lacson.

Lacson dared the President to carry on with his dare, and emphasized his years in government service, to prove his honesty.

Soho also brought to the discussion table the issue about the Anti-Terror Law, which he co-authored.

Lacson put extra emphasis on the safeguards embedded in the law, itself, that ensure no human rights abuse will take place. He then clarified that he was not at the helm of the inserted provisions, which the Supreme Court, later on, declared as unconstitutional.

Soho confronted Moreno with questions regarding his loyalty. The Manila Mayor was reminded of the many times he shifted to different political parties and left former alliances, to run with the opposing party.

These questions are linked to his previous statements which questioned VP Robredo’s choice to carry the pink color, instead of yellow, which is the Liberal Party’s political color.

Moreno was also asked to respond to comments that label him as a ‘populist candidate’, to which he answered by highlighting the good results of being a populist candidate.

Judged against how they confronted Soho’s unbiased and upfront questions, all four candidates still have a long way to go to flip someone or even the entire voting demographic into rooting for them.

Certainly, there are new recruits in every camp, but the fact that there are still three months to go, must not make anybody complacent. There are still a lot of unanswered important questions, but to be brutally frank, unless all these candidates are telling the truth, our chance of seeing the leader we deserve remains murky. What if the only one who is lying gets elected? That surely spells out our doom.

With still a few months to go before the election, a lot must be wondering whether specials like this could really help people change course. Public response to their answers may likely reshape their stance should the same questions land on their lap again in future interviews and debates, hence the need to remain discerning and vigilant.

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