ABSTRACT
The Philippines has a long tradition of debating, yet for decades televised debates among political candidates for national office remained a relatively elusive phenomenon. This chapter focuses on a turning point for debates in the Philippines, when as part of the 2016 election several highly watched debates were held among candidates for the presidency and vice presidency.
After a brief discussion of the history of debates in the Philippines, this chapter looks at the role of the National Election Commission in setting conditions for the 2016 PiliPinas debates. The Commission partnered with major media organisations in the country to establish conditions for debates, addressing such issues as predebate negotiations among parties, production details for the live telecasts, and topics to be addressed by the candidates during the programs.
The chapter examines the effect of the 2016 PiliPinas debates from the perspectives of voter education, media involvement, and campaign strategy. Particular emphasis is placed on the role of social media during the 2016 debates. In a country with a high rate of social media engagement, such platforms as Twitter and Facebook played an important part in shaping reaction to the debates, as well as helping to crowdsource the topics that were discussed.
Finally, the chapter considers the future of electoral debates in the Philippines. Based on the experience of 2016, signs are hopeful that debates will become a regular feature of national elections, and that ways will be found to make these events as responsive as possible to public sentiment.
