It was almost like the Vice Presidential debates. There was cheering and booing. The 228 participants to the townhall meeting that was held in Bahay ng Mabuting Pastol in Tagaytay City on April 9 were young mothers, students, religious leaders, and senior citizens. It was sponsored by PPCRV volunteers.

Prof. Monsod discussed the findings of her study where corruption and dynasties were the major culprits why the Philippines ended up in the bottom of Asian countries. After her discussion, a voter stood to say that he supports Binay. He does not believe that he is corrupt and says that all the allegations against him are part of political persecution. A mother stood up and said her vote also goes to Binay because he will make the 4 Ps into 5 P’s. An elderly person who used to live in Makati gave an opposing vote and shared stories about the Binary wealth.

A student stood up to declare his support for Poe because she represents change. A village leader stressed the need for strong leadership so that laws can be enforced well and citizens need to be disciplined. A Roxas admirer explained that her vote goes for him because of his integrity and experience in public service. The failure of government to respond effectively to the needs of the Tacloban resident was raised again and blamed on Roxas.

Atty. Monsod was asked to explain the citizenship issue against Poe and he explained the provisions of the Constitution. Atty. Monsod expressed hope that all the Presidential candidates would explain their platform on social reforms. He said that the promise of government to alleviate the plight of the poor has not been fulfilled despite the passage of 30 years.

Robredo was a favorite among the participants. Almost one-half of them chose her even before the discussions. After the meeting, she was preferred by 6 out of 10 voters.

Roxas got most of the votes among the Presidentiables, 29% during the pre-voting and 44% after. It was clear however that those who chose Poe were loyal. The percentage of voters who chose her remained 23% during the pre-vote and 22% during the post-vote. Those who preferred Binay represented 14% of the voters, down from 18%. And for Duterte, the preference slightly moved downward from 21% to 17%.