Catholic radio starts forum for candidates

By Myrna Bermudo

Radio Caritas Mariae, a non - commercial, non - profit Catholic radio station, jumpstarted a series of forum for mayoral aspirants for Naga City, gobernatorial aspirants and aspirants for congressmen of 3rd, 4th and 5th districts of Camarines Sur.

Four mayoral aspirants were present during the forum held March 16, Wednesday, at the St. Maximilian Hall of the Franciscan Friars of the Immaculate, San Felipe, Naga City. They are: John Bongat, Nelson Legacion, Tato Mendoza and Manny Morano.

The forum started at 6:00 in the evening and was aired live at DWRV-FM 98.3 and other radio stations. It was live - streamed at the Facebook pages of Radio Caritas Mariae, Archdiocese of Caceres and other social media platforms.

Forum on March 17 will be for those aspiring for Congressman of 4th & 5th District of Camarines Sur, on March 18, forum for gobernatorial aspirants of Camarines Sur and on March 21, for those aspiring for Congressman of Camarines Sur District 3.

The following are the objectives of the fora:

1. To provide a venue for the candidates to present their platform of government to the electorate

2. To elicit from the candidates their views, stand and plans regarding the key issues affecting Naga City and the province of Camarines Sur

3. To assist voters make an enlightened decision as they elect candidates for local positions and

4. To be able to hold candidates accountable, if elected, to the pronouncements made during the forum.

Four mayoral aspirants for Naga City were present during the forum held March 16, Wednesday, at the St. Maximilian Hall of the Franciscan Friars of the Immaculate, San Felipe, Naga City. They are from left to right: Nelson Legacion, John Bongat, Tato Mendoza and Manny Morano. (Photo credit: FB page of Archdiocese of Caceres)

Elmer Sto. Domingo of the Center for Community Development of the Ateneo de Naga University served as the moderator for the March 16 forum. The panelists include Msgr. Noe Badiola, parish priest of the Naga Metropolitan Cathedral, Juan Carlos Madrid, Student, AB Political Science, Ateneo de Manila University and Atty. Carmela Francia Peña, Director, Ignatian Legal Apostolate Office of the Ateneo de Naga University College of Law.

The moderator for each of the scheduled forum is responsible for presenting the rules of the forum and enforcing said rules. It shall be the duty of the moderator to open the forum, close each segment and start the next segment. He shall also close the forum by calling the candidates to give their two -minute concluding statement.

The forum have three segments: First segment - each aspirant is called to present his/her platform of government in eight minutes; Second segment - aspirant answer questions from the panel and third segment - answering questions from the people.

The aspirants are given two minutes to deliver his answer to every question from the panel and those coming from the public.

There is a screening committee to gather questions from public prior to the event and to select the questions and reformulate if deemed necessary and to determine the order of the priority. The questions may be sent through text: 0918 682 8027 (Smart), or 0945 318 3840 (Globe) on or before March 11, 2022. Questions may also be sent through the Facebook Account Radio Caritas Mariae – The Mother’s Touch.

To ensure crowd control, the organizer issues a gate pass to those who will be invited to belong to the audience. Each candidate will be given 5 gate passes only. This is also to observe minimum health standard since the city is still under Alert Level 1.

An orientation for all aspirants or their representative was made. It was held March 10, Monday, at the Archbishop’s Residence, Elias Angeles St., Naga City.

The forum is organized by Radio Caritas Mariae- The Mother’s Touch in partnership with the Archdiocese of Caceres, Caceres Commission on Communications (CCCom), Caritas - Caceres, Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting (PPCRV), Ateneo de Naga University, Goldprint and Daughters of St. Paul.