MANILA, Philippines - Like the Filipino delicacy balut, the first Philippine Daily Inquirer presidential debate was not for the faint-hearted.

Pointed and witty queries ranging from the price of "galunggong" and salted eggs to Charter change and the budget deficit, sharp brickbats and a lively audience marked the event at the jampacked University of the Philippines Theater in Diliman, Quezon City Monday.

Senators Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino III, Richard "Dick" Gordon, Ana Consuelo "Jamby" Madrigal and Manny Villar, Councilor JC de los Reyes, environmentalist Nicanor "Nicky" Perlas, ex-Defense Secretary Gilbert "Gibo" Teodoro and evangelist Bro. Eddie Villanueva faced a tough grilling by nine panelists, who also read questions from Inquirer readers, and several members of the audience.

The forum lasted more than two hours and was aired live by dzBB, the AM radio station of GMA 7, which is the Inquirer's election coverage partner.

Madrigal stole the show by sniping at Villar at every opportunity, blasting him for his extensive advertisements to his group's boycott of the Senate's last session day when senators were supposed to vote on the recommendation to censure him for the C-5 controversy.

Madrigal was on a roll when she seemingly flunked the test on how much a kilo of galunggong and salted eggs cost.

Villar, at the receiving end of brickbats from Madrigal and Gordon, lashed back when he emphatically declared he was spending his own money. He suggested that people might be voting for the anonymous backers of his rivals who depended on campaign contributions.

No to Charter change

Villar, who has caught up on survey front-runner Aquino, also offered the day's most defining issue - that he won't call a constitutional convention or constituent assembly to amend the Charter.

"Charter change will not be my priority; I believe it is not that important," he said in response to the question by foreign business and political analyst Peter Wallace. He said he'll leave it up to the people to decide in a referendum.

De los Reyes, the youngest among the aspirants, said that while he might be open to reviewing the constitutional ban on foreign ownership of land, he was still for a nationalist policy. He also stuck to his stand against the reproductive health bill which he described as "really dangerous."

Villanueva had to defend his dual role as a religious figure and a politician, but he also earned points for advocating real development for Mindanao.

Perlas, who shrugged off his low survey ratings, declared that one of his first acts as president would be to create a Department of Civil Society Affairs.

A confident Teodoro came out strong on doing away with corruption in the bureaucracy, by reducing temptation and increasing incentives for performance.