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When my Journalism 102 professor e-mailed our class last Friday looking for student volunteers for the Philippine Daily Inquirer First Edition—The Presidential Debate, I knew I’d be crazy to decline. This was an opportunity to see the presidential candidates in the flesh, to get to know more about their platforms, maybe even have a photo op with one of them (or if we’re lucky, with all of them). How can I say no?

Come Monday morning, I found myself in the still-empty UP University Theater, processing everything we were supposed to do. There were many student volunteers, and we had different assignments: some were to handle the registration, some were to assist the presidential candidates, some were ushers. I was assigned to the media registration: asking for their press ID (or any confirmation that they were media people), giving the special Inquirer Debate press ID plus a ball pen and a free copy of the day’s paper, and telling them where to proceed.

The press started trickling in at around 8:30, and we all became busier from 9:00 onwards. Sometimes, media people would all come at the same time, and it would get stressful. We also had to deal with people who really want in but had no IDs/credentials with them, people asking for extra tickets (which we didn’t have), and people asking if they could let their companions enter even if they had no tickets.

Around 11:00, when the theater was filled, I was able to go in and watch the debate. Two presidentiables, ex-President Joseph Estrada and Vetallano Acosta, didn’t make it, but it was still an interesting debate—though I’d say it would’ve been better had Estrada been present. Everywhere you look, you’d see someone wielding a camera, and I even saw reporter Ivan Mayrina delivering his stand-upper (that’s broadcast talk for a news report at the scene of an event with the television camera focused on a standing reporter, as defined by Encarta) in a corner of the theater. There were also sneaky supporters who were trying to give away fliers and other stuff to the audience, which was not allowed.

The debate ended at around 1:00 with all the candidates linking hands onstage. I think the best men onstage would have to be Gilbert Teodoro, Richard Gordon, and Nicanor Perlas, though Jamby Madrigal was also on a roll with her continuous indirect criticisms of another presidential candidate. Overall, it was a good debate, and the questions were witty and varied. And it was also quite an experience for me, as I learned a lot (for instance, I didn’t know that the Senate also employed media people), gained insights as to whom I should vote for (and whom I should steer clear of), and was able to hone my improvisation and people skills. Oh, and I and my friends got a photo with Dick Gordon!

photo from Joshua Dalupang