The five people vying for the country’s highest post faced off for the first time last Sunday — and it didn’t take long before sparks began to fly.
The first leg of the PiliPinas Debates 2016, organized by the Commission on Elections in cooperation with GMA Network and the Philippine Daily Inquirer, saw Vice President Jejomar Binay, Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte, Senator Grace Poe, former Interior Secretary Mar Roxas, and Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago tackle issues while taking shots at each other during the two-hour event at Capitol University in Cagayan De Oro.

It was the first presidential debate ever held in Mindanao, and the first time in 24 years that the Comelec held a presidential debate.
The candidates were grilled about their respective track records, as well as issues involving poverty and development and Mindanao. Roxas, the administration bet, set the tone by taking broadsides at his rivals during his opening statement . The other candidates used their opening statements to talk about their respective advocacies.
Binay once again spoke about poverty as the biggest problem for the country. “Kahirapan pa rin problema ng bayan,” he said, adding that his track record in Makati made him best suited to become president.
He said poverty was the issue he addressed when he served as longtime mayor of Makati City, the country’s center of business and finance. Binay cited jobs creation as the reason for the rise of Makati as the country’s richest city.
He also hit mentioned unnamed critics who are taking shots at his campaign with allegations of corruption.
Santiago, meanwhile, spoke about her anti-corruption advocacy.
“Everybody wants to have the money of the government in their pockets,” she said, saying that corruption is the reason with the country is one of the poorest in Southeast Asia.
Duterte, meanwhile, spoke about his platform of peace and order in his opening.
“I am here because there is so much criminality. Drugs are flooding the country and there is so much corruption in the government. If I am the president I promise in three to six months and I will deliver. Economic growth is impossible unless we start with government,” he said.
Poe, for her part, boasted that her administration would have “tunay na malasakit.”
Elected senator in 2013, Poe said promised that 30 percent of the country’s budget would be devoted to Mindanao if she became president.