Candidates for the top three elected positions in the province of Benguet will bare their plans and platforms on various issues surrounding the province in an election forum this week.
Dubbed ‘Tongtongan di Masakbayan,’ the three-part forum series will be hosted by Cordillera Career Development College (CCDC) at its 3,000-seater gymnasium in La Trinidad, Benguet.
The first part starts with vice gubernatorial aspirants on April 25 at 1 p.m. while the second is for gubernatorial aspirants on April 27 at the same time. Congressional aspirants will end the series on April 29, also at 1 p.m.
The forum intends to examine the plans and intentions of the candidates to help guide voters in their choices this May polls, said CCDC President Sherry Junette Malaya-Tagle.
Questions were solicited from sectoral groups as well as from line agencies and non-government agencies, Tagle said.
The first segment of the forum consists of eight rounds where candidates take turn in answering questions related to certain issues or aspects of the society. In the second segment, the candidates will show their stand on local and national issues by simply raising a thumbs up and thumbs down sign.
The Commission on Elections Benguet Provincial Office will also be holding a voter’s education campaign and a demonstration of how to use the Electronic Voting Machine.
The election forum is hosted by the CCDC College of Law and La Trinidad-based Infinitum Multimedia. It is duly-accredited by the COMELEC and held in partnership with the Philippine Information Agency and the Benguet Press Corps.
Tagle said the gymnasium will be opened at noon to accommodate the audience while live streaming on Facebook through the Cordillera College (CCDC) and PIA Benguet pages will start at 12:30 p.m.
Attendees are advised to bring their vaccination cards and observe health protocols, she added.
“We are hoping that this forum will stir discussions on how these aspirants intend to lead the province for the people to vote wisely, because three years is something we cannot take back,” Tagle said.
The first of the series is moderated by CCDC law professor Atty. Miller Quintin Jr. The gubernatorial forum will be moderated by former La Trinidad Sangguniang Kabataan president Atty. Brenden Kim Quintos and Department of Development Communication chair Nora Sagayo of Benguet State University.
The final forum series will be moderated by CCDC College of Accountancy dean Domingo Bay-an, who is also a former town mayor, and Rocky Jake Ngalob of the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples – Benguet.**Karlston Lapniten
