Technical difficulties greeted Filipinos watching the first hour of the CNN Philippines vice presidential debates on Saturday afternoon for those watching the live online streaming.
The media network through Ruth Cabal and Rico Hizon is hosting the Comelec-accredited debate on February 26 at the University of Santo Tomas‘ Quadricentennial Pavilion from 5 p.m. onwards.
It is meant to give the vice-presidential bets a chance to present their platforms and discuss key national issues such as the COVID-19 pandemic, economic recovery and West Philippine Sea, among others.
Attendees are former congressman Walden Bello, Rizalito David, economist Manny SD Lopez, physician Willie Ong, Sen. Kiko Pangilinan, Senate President Tito Sotto III and lawyer Carlos Serapio.
Rep. Lito Atienza (Buhay party-list) and Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio are not attending.
Viewers initially have the choice to watch a live stream of it on its website or tune in to Channel 9 on free TV, Channel 10 on Cignal and Channel 14 on Sky Cable.
Those who do not have access to television are watching it through the internet. However, it did not prove to be a pleasant experience as Filipinos reported experiencing lags with the stream.
“Anyone else having problems with #CNNPHVPDebate livestream?” sociologist Ash Presto tweeted.
“Pangit ka bonding. Pahirapan sa link at lag pa, or sa’kin lang ba? Please be more accesible #CNNPHVPDebate,” another Twitter user said.
“Una, ‘yung streaming platform na meron, sobrang lag sa website ng CNN. Hindi ko alam kung internet ko ba ‘yung problema o internet traffic lang. Sana mas accessible sa tao ‘yung debate like sa FB or YouTube,” a different Filipino wrote.
This was acknowledged by the media network at 5:41 p.m.
“Sorry for the inconvenience. We’re currently experiencing technical difficulties with our Facebook page, but you can watch the #CNNPHVPDebate on our Sports Desk Facebook account in the meantime,” it said on its Twitter account, linking a livestream link from the page.
The network is also replying to Filipino users who are complaining about their experiences on Twitter with the same advisory.
