CONVERSATIONAL

ANALYSIS OF

INTERVIEWS OF 2022

PRESIDENTIAL
CANDIDATES OF THE

PHILIPPINES
MA. CONSUELO F. NOLASCO
CHRISCELLE ANN P. PIMENTEL
KRISTINE DIANE C. SANTOS
ZEDRICK MINH TURQUEZA
 This study aims to create an in-depth

conversational analysis of televised political

interviews that feature the 2022 Philippine

The

presidential candidates. The televised

Problem
interviews were transcribed, coded and

analyzed using the paradigm proposed by

Ofer Feldman in analyzing political

interviews.
 questions replies

classification based on syntactic expression\

Sender
syntactic structure
Receiver
pragmatic means of weight reduction
Content
grammatical completeness
Context
types that seek opinions or prevalent views
level of threat What factors influence the setting

or the background of the interviews

questions/replies sequences and impact the nature of the

The interviewer enquiry and interviewee

interaction between interviewers

response and interviewees, and the content of

Issues at stake in each question-response the questions and the replies?

 Rimberio Inc.

THE

METHODOLOGY
proceed
The proposed paradigm of Ofer Feldman entitled: Televised Political

Interviews: A Paradigm for Analysis was used in coding the data

obtained. The study utilized a descriptive qualitative method since it

was suitable to describe the analysis of data

In this study, the researchers transcribed three (3) political

interviews during the 2022 Philippine National election and coded

them using the proposed paradigm of Ofer Feldman.

The Boy Abunda
GMA Public

Talk Channel ANC 24/7

Affairs
, ,.

The 2022

Presidential one-on-
The KBP Presidential
The Jessica Soho

one interview with

Candidates Forum Presidential

Boy Abunda Interview

 Rimberio Inc.

FINDINGS

proceed
How are the attributes of the interviewers’ questions detailed in terms of the

following?

1.1 classification based on syntactic expression

The Jessica Soho Presidential Interview has the least number of prefaced questions
the three interviews have most of their questions asked in an Interrogative-word

questions or WH-questions form. It also shows in the table that the The Jessica Soho

Presidential Interview has Yes/No questions form, a total of 23 occurrences

According to the results of the data, the The KBP Presidential Candidates Forum

significantly shows how they asked questions in an Interrogative-word questions or WH-

questions form.
How are the attributes of the interviewers’ questions detailed in terms of the

following?
1.2 Distinguishing the syntactic structure of questions

the findings of the study regarding the major questions consist only of ‘topic extension’

both the The 2022 Presidential one-on-one interview with Boy Abunda and The Jessica

Soho Presidential Interview: the interviewer raises a minor implication of a prior statement

in order to encourage an interviewee to reconfirm and/or expand on prior remarks.

The KBP Presidential Candidates Forum, interviewers ‘challenges’ the interviewees’

responses by expliciting possible implications or presumptions of the answer, with the

goal of testing some aspect of the interviewees’ actions, intentions, or attitudes.

How are the attributes of the interviewers’ questions detailed in terms of the

following?
1.3 Examining pragmatic means of weight reduction

The interviewers’ questions were mostly Questionss accompanied by accounts

The major questions which were the main topic of the interviews fall under the
Quotation of Critics: The 2022 Presidential one-on-one interview with Boy Abunda and
The Jessica Soho Presidential Interview’s. On the contrary, the The KBP Presidential
Candidates Forum’s major questions which has a total no. of eight (8) questions
correspondingly have four (4) Questionss accompanied by accounts and four (4)
Quotation of Critics:
How are the attributes of the interviewers’ questions detailed in terms of the

following?
1.4 Identifying grammatically complete and incomplete questions

all the questions that were asked by the interviewers consisted of

grammatically complete questions with the exception of one question that was
asked by Boy Abunda on his show in which Leni Robredo interrupted him and
answered the question without letting the interviewer finish the sentence of
its question.
How are the attributes of the interviewers’ questions detailed in terms of the

following?
1.5 Identifying questions that seek personal opinions versus prevalent views

within a group

Mostly, all the questions that were asked by the interviewers seek Personal,
private information. Questions that fall within the category of Personal, private
information apprehend their personal opinion, beliefs, thoughts, and feelings; as
oppose to Information ideas or views of a group that the interviewee belongs to
seek the interviewees’ political parties or government ministries’.
How are the attributes of the interviewers’ questions detailed in terms of the

following?
1.6 Assessing the questions’ level of threat

The 2022 Presidential one-on-one interview with Boy Abunda and The Jessica Soho
Presidential Interview have substantially threatening questions that would meant a
self-sabotage to themselves or their allies. On the contrary, the The KBP Presidential
Candidates Forum shows no significant threat to the interviewee. There was “no
necessary level of threat” found in eight (8) major questions as well as in the minor
questions which meant there was no potentially face-damaging to themselves, their
political party, and to significant others.
2 How are the interviewees’ replies examined in terms of the four dimensions :

2.1 Sender - whose opinion does the speaker seem to address?

The Sender or the interviewees’ responses are “obviously his/her

personal opinion/ideas, not someone else’s”.
 How are the interviewees’ replies examined in terms of the four dimensions :

2.2 Receiver - To what extent is the message addressed to the person(s)

who asked the question?

The speakers’ replies in to whom they are being addressed. It conveys that the three
interviews indistinguishably addressed mainly directly the interviewers and
succeedingly, the public in general.
How are the interviewees’ replies examined in terms of the four dimensions :

2.3 Content - how clear is the message in terms of what is being said?

The messages of the interviewees mostly answers the questions directly.

The interviewees’ responses have also run-around, double talk (circutious talk).

Needless to say, there were also reponses that consists of multiple arguments.
How are the interviewees’ replies examined in terms of the four dimensions :

2.4 Context - what extent is this direct answer to the question?

From the three interviews that were coded and analyzed, it clearly shows that most
of the questions that were asked were directly answered by the politicians. This
result of the study provides an empirical evidence in oppose of the popular view that
politicians do not reply to a large proportion of questions in political interviews. This
study shows that politicians in the 20th century in the Philippines have mastered
the art of capturing the hearts of the Filipino voters or the general public in all-out,
by boldly answering each and if possibly all the questions throw at them without
damaging their self-face or the party they are representing.
The Setting of the Interview
1. The nature of the television program in which the interview takes place:
The nature of the interview is a nationwide program which was aired on
youtube.

The program is a special interview program which is during the national election
campaign period.

The viewing rate of the three (3) programs varies: The Boy Abunda Talk Channel
which where the The 2022 Presidential one-on-one Interviews with Boy Abunda
has 1.49 million subscribers; GMA Public Affairs which where the The Jessica
Soho Presidential Interview aired has 18.3 million subscribers; and the ANC 24/7
which where the Panata sa Bayan: The KBP Presidential Forum aired has 900
thousand subscribers.
2. The interview’s format:
Out of the three (3) interviews two out of the three have one-on-one interviews
which have a single interviewer and interviewee setting. On the other hand, the
KBP Presidential Forum has questions asked by the interviewers and other
interviewees who are invited to present questions and participate in the
discussion.
3. The broadcast time and the length of the interview:
a. The interviews were broadcasted in the night hours in the country.

b. The 2022 Presidential one-on-one Interviews with Boy Abunda lasted differently
depending on the speaker:
The duration of the interview of Manny Pacquioa and Leni Robredo ran on for about one hour
thirteen minutes and twenty four seconds (1:24:13).
The duration of the interview of Francisco Domagoso ran on for about one hour twelve minutes and
ten seconds (1:12:10).
The duration of the interview of Panfilo Lacson ran on for about one hour nine minutes and forty five
seconds (1:09:45).
The Jessica Soho Presidential Interview lasted for two hours, twenty five minutes and twenty seconds
(2:25:20).
Panata sa Bayan: The KBP Presidential Forum lasted for two hours forty minutes and seventeen
seconds (2:40:17).
4. Who asks the interview’s questions? (What are their social and political orientations?)

● Eugenio Romerica Abunda Jr A.K.A Boy Abunda — Filipino Journalist

● Maria Jessica Aspiras Soho A.K.A Jessica Soho — Filipino Journalist
● 'Bombo' Elmar Acol of Bombo Radyo — Filipino Journalist
● Roby Alampay of OnePH —Filipino Journalist
● Dan Andrew Cura of Far East Broadcasting Company—Filipino Journalist
● Ed Lingao of TV5 form the panel for the forum.—Filipino Journalist
5. Who are the interviewees? (What are their ranks, in government, for example?)

The interviewees or the presidential candidates are all politicians. Out of the four
(4) candidates/interviewees, three of them are national politicians: Vice President
Leni Robredo, Senator Manny Pacquioa, Senator Panfilo Lacson. On the other
hand, the only local politician candidate/interviewee is Mayor Francisco
Domagoso.
6. The Political Culture and Media Organization

a. The interviews were taken in a free democratic society since the Philippines is a
democratic and republican State. Sovereignty resides in the people and all
government authority emanates from them.

b. The media system was organized through televised broadcasting and online
platforms. The media is owned and controlled by private sectors. These major
broadcasting companies have also adapted into online portals. This strategy was
strongly considered due to the growing number of Filipinos who use social media
instead of television in watching the news through snippets or short video clips.
 Rimberio Inc.

conclusion

proceed
1. The study shows, that the interviewer’s conduct is influenced by the
cooperativeness of the interviewees. Interviewers usually do not express their
personal opinions and perspectives on the topic of discussion.

2. Interviewees make use of question reformulations to avoid some aspects of an

interviewer’s question.
3. In the context of Philippine Political interviews, these three (3) sets of interviews
conducted, show that when it is the politician's own face that is at stake, more
often than not, they would directly answer the question and prove their
innocency. And in a few instances, he or she does not wish to appear either
incompetent (reducing the issue to a simple, incomplete answer) or devious (by
appearing long-winded, circuitous, or evasive).