Partido Reporma presidential candidate Senator Panfilo ‘Ping’ M. Lacson and running mate Senate President Vicente “Tito” C. Sotto III are more than ready to participate in any debates for the electorate to be guided to make an informed decision in the May 9 national elections.

The veteran lawmakers also said all candidates should join debates and other fora and panel interviews so Filipinos could see their abilities and platforms and choose for themselves who the next President and Vice President should be for the next six years.

‘’That’s where we can see their platforms, their experience, these will come out (in debates). So, it’s extremely important that everyone join – vice presidential, senatorial and presidential candidates – so we can show what our plans really are for the country,’’ Lacson said in an interview with reporters in a campaign sortie in Batangas.

‘'We have prepared a long time for this, but of course we will still review (for debates). The vice-presidential debates will go first, I suppose. I am confident that my partner (Sotto) is equally prepared,’’ he added.

Sotto said his and Lacson’s combined 83 years of public service would underscore how ready and qualified they are among all the presidential tandems for the coming polls.

“I’ve been prepared for 30 years. Senator Lacson has been prepared for 50 years. Perhaps, we can... We will express and talk about what we plan to do, our programs and plans, and our views and perspectives on any issue they will ask us,” the Senate chief said.

Lacson said that to prepare for the coming debate to be hosted by CNN Philippines, they have consulted with various experts, not only in terms of existing laws.

The Partido Reporma bets are also buoyed by the positive comments they have received from netizens after watching previous presidential fora.

There are even some instances, the Lacson-Sotto tandem said, that supporters of other candidates have switched sides because of the platforms they have laid out and the manner that the duo has answered several tough questions.

The longtime public servants discovered this as they made the rounds of southern Luzon areas this week, like in Biñan, Laguna, where one councilor confided to them how the mindset of his teenage son in college changed after hearing Lacson speak on one program.

‘'The son said he had a different view at the start, but after watching the debate, his son told him he had changed his mind, he knew that Senator Ping Lacson should be the next President of the Philippines, according to him (the councilor). This isn’t just happening in Biñan, Laguna, but in other areas too, that’s what people have been telling us,’’ Sotto pointed out.