After the latest presidential interviews, student-leaders from De La Salle University – Dasmariñas (DLSU-D) said that veteran journalist Jessica Soho is “more worthy” to interview presidential candidates than television host Boy Abunda.
Soho and Abunda recently hosted two separate presidential interviews on January 22 and from January 24 to 28, respectively.
Immediately after the release, people started sharing their opinions and sentiments about the said interviewers’ performances, and student-leaders from DLSU-D promptly joined the discussion.
Asking the right questions
Former Chief Executive of the Broadcast Journalism Program Council (BJPC) Janniel Janer expressed that Soho interviewed ‘really well’ compared to Abunda in terms of asking tough questions.
“With Miss Jessica Soho, I find the questions really specific. They were personalized. On the other hand with Boy Abunda, to me, the way the questions were laid out, was pretty nonsensical, to be honest,” Janer explained.
Corporate communications member of the De La Salle University - Dasmariñas Pre-Med Society (DPMS) Aira Amante aligned with the previous statement, adding that Abunda’s interview was ‘not enough’ even though it was almost six-hour long compared to Soho’s over two-hour telecast.
Meanwhile, University’s campus publication Heraldo Filipino Associate Editor Lance Mejico, pointed out that the veteran journalist’s interview scrutinized the aspiring presidents better than the King of Talk.
“Hindi ko (sinasabing) walang pagkikilatis o hindi (naging) fact-based ‘yung panayam ni Tito Boy Abunda sa mga presidentiables. [Pero] siguro, ang isang kulang kung bakit ko nasabi na mas pipiliin ko ang isang journalist ay [dahil] The Boy Abunda presidential interviews (were) not incisive enough,” Mejico said.
(Translation: I’m not saying that Boy Abunda’s interview with the presidentiables did not have scrutiny or that it’s not fact-based. But what’s lacking and why I would choose a journalist was because The Boy Abunda presidential interviews were not incisive enough)
On the other hand, La Salle Filipiniana Dance Company (LSFDC) batch head Vince Chan considered Abunda’s interview as ‘on point’ and ‘valuable,’ but he was concerned with the King of Talk interrupting the candidates whenever they answer.
For journalist and professor Rommel Lopez, he emphasized that it will boil down to the ‘crux of the matter’ or the critical part of the interview.
“The other one is really doing her job as a journalist in a journalistic format. Sad to say, the other one is just trying hard. Boy Abunda is trying hard,” Lopez asserted.
What is at stake
Mejico said he would rather trust a journalist than a celebrity interviewer because of the things at stake in these presidential interviews.
“It’s not just a simple interview. Of course, ang nakataya dito [ay] eleksyon, kinabukasan ng bayan, at syempre para kilatisin kung sino man ‘yung mga pwedeng umupo [sa gobyerno] for the next 6 years,” Mejico said.
(Translation: It’s not just a simple interview. Of course, what’s at stake here is the election, the country’s tomorrow, and to scrutinize on whoever will be seating on the government in the next 6 years)
In terms of voter’s awareness and education, University Student Government (USG) President Nina Ligan emphasized that the viewers must weigh in the presidential candidates before selecting their bet.
“If you’re choosing a leader, you just don’t have to check their (capabilities), pero kailangan mo ring tingnan kung pino ba or nandun ba talaga yung sagot na nakuha mo sa isang lider,” Ligan added.
(Translation: If you’re choosing a leader, you just don’t have to check their capabilities, but you also have to look if the answer you have to hear in a leader is fine or present)
Lopez also reminded the youth today to play an active part in the discussions about the upcoming elections because this will determine the future of the next generations.
“If may time kang manood ng mga latest trends sa YouTube and sa TikTok, sana may time rin lalong-lalo na sa pagkilatis sa pipiliin nating politiko,” he said.
(Translation: If you have the time to watch the latest trends on YouTube and TikTok, I hope you also have the time, especially, on scrutinizing politicians we have to choose.)
As of December 14, 2021, the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) recorded more than 67.5 million registered voters.
To watch the full presidential interviews hosted by Soho and Abunda, visit the links below.
The 2022 Presidential One-on-One Interviews with Boy Abunda
By Xander Cipriano
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