Philippine poll body hopes presidential debates make impact

The Philippine Commission on Elections (Comelec) expressed hope Sunday that with the presidential debates, Filipino voters were more enlightened on whom to vote for in the May 9 polls.

The poll body, in cooperation with local media outfits, held the third and last presidential debate in northern Philippine province of Pangasinan and attended by all the five candidates.

These include Vice President Jejomar Binay, Senators Grace Poe and Miriam Defensor-Santiago, former Local Government Secretary Manuel Roxas II and Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte.

Each candidate tried to outdo others as they were asked to lay down their policies on various local and international issues.

The presidential aspirants also promised a more progressive Philippines when the six-year term ends in 2022.

Comelec spokesman James Jimenez, in his Twitter account, said the #PilipinasDebates2016 "makes an impact."

Previous presidential debates were held in southern Philippine city of Cagayan de Oro and in central Philippine province of Cebu. A similar debate was also conducted for vice presidential aspirants.