Sans the top three bets, Gibo, Jamby steal show at Ateneo forum

DAVAO CITY —With the top three leading presidential bets all absent, administration party bet Gilberto Teodoro Jr. and independent candidate Sen. Jamby Madrigal got the warmest welcome and the loudest applause in a forum on Mindanao issues held here on Tuesday morning. Teodoro, dressed in his trademark green polo shirt and denim pants, was mobbed by students from the Ateneo de Davao University when he entered the venue. He also got the loudest cheers from the audience during the forum, prompting the moderator to remind the students of proper decorum. “May I remind the audience, especially from the female populace, that you are only allowed to clap for a candidate before and after he or she answers the question," forum moderator Marie Dinah Tolentino-Fuertes told the audience before introducing the Lakas-Kampi-CMD standard-bearer. Teodoro received the loudest round of applause during the forum with his answer on how he will promote gender equality and women’s rights if he is elected to the presidency. “To train women is probably one part of the empowerment. In order to have genuine awareness and equality, you have to train men to respect women. Gender equality and awareness is not so much for the women, but more the men," he said, met with cheers from the crowd. “I will advocate gender awareness education and schooling at the lowest possible level of education, so when children grow up, they grow up having the right culture for gender awareness and respect," he added. Ginalyn Villagonzalo, a freshman Chemical Engineering student from the Ateneo de Davao University, said she thought the Lakas-Kampi bet stood out in the forum because of his straightforward answers. “He can answer the questions directly and fluently, and he was able to cover issues with more depth compared to other candidates," Villagonzalo told GMANews.TV. She however said that Teodoro should have more public exposure, since he is “less popular" compared to other frontrunners in the race. Jamby, too Madrigal, meanwhile, got cheers when she took a swipe at the three presidential candidates who were not present in the forum. “The voice of the youth and the indigenous people can only be heard by a government that comes to the grassroots. That is why we are here today to listen to you, unlike those candidates who do not care to listen to you and who are not here. They just want you to believe in their advertisements," Madrigal said. “Hindi naman po yata tama iyon. Hindi kami natulog para makapunta rito. (That doesn’t seem right at all. In our case, we missed sleep so we could be here.) How can your voices be heard if they don’t listen to you?" she added. All three front-runner candidates—Sen. Benigno “Noynoy" Aquino III, Sen. Manuel Villar Jr., and former President Joseph Estrada—were absent from the forum. Aquino failed to fly to Davao City due to barosinusitis, while Villar Jr. held a press conference in a nearby hotel while the forum was being held. Madrigal also received cheers with her acerbic remarks about how the record of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo could possibly affect the future women presidents of the country. "I hope the next women presidents are not judged on the record of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. Mas matangkad naman po kami (We’re taller than that)," the senator said, referring to the President's short height. For Robert Quinto, head of the Davao City Chamber of Commerce, however, what was most notable was Madrigal’s clear answers to the questions, aside from her taking potshots at other candidates. Quinto said Madrigal, along with Teodoro and fellow senator Richard Gordon, gave the clearest answers during the forum. “This is not an endorsement, but if we are to be specific, Gibo, Gordon and Jamby answered the questions very clearly," he told reporters after the event. Also present in the forum were presidential aspirants Nicanor Perlas, JC delos Reyes and Eddie Villanueva. The event, entitled “Panaghisgut-hisgut" (Discourse) was organized by the Ateneo de Davao University in cooperation with the Integrated Bar of the Philippines- Davao Chapter and the Davao City Chamber of Commerce.—JV, GmaNews.TV