Presidential and vice-presidential aspirants who will skip the debates organized by the Commission on Elections (Comelec) cannot air their electronic rally (e-rally) on the poll body’s platform, according to its spokesman James Jimenez.
“We do have a e-rally that we do allow them to use the platform and one of the agreements is that if they skip the debates, then they will not be able to air their e-rallies on our e-rally platform,” Jimenez said during a memorandum of agreement signing between the Comelec and Vote Pilipinas.
Jimenez said that would be the result for candidates who would not participate in the debate.
The Comelec is organizing presidential and vice presidential debates for the May 2022 polls which will be held on March 19 and 20, at the Sofitel Hotel in Pasay City.
A second presidential debate is slated on April 3.
Each debate is anchored on a set of predetermined topics on pressing concerns of the country, such as pandemic and the economy, and the pool of questions will come from the concerned sector groups.
Jimenez said that all 10 presidential bets have signified their intent to join in the first debate
However, pre-election surveys frontrunner former Senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. said that he was still uncertain in his participation as he was “still looking at the format.”
The debate will follow a single-moderator format with no live audience.
Acting Comelec chairman Socorro Inting has encouraged all presidential and vice presidential candidates to attend the debates to help the electorate decide.
“The debate’s only goal is to help our voters know where you stand on issues that are being faced by our society and what are your plans to resolve them,” she said.
She said the voters would have a better comparison of candidates based on what they will see and what they will hear, adding “they could decide who will they vote for in the upcoming elections.”
Meanwhile, the Comelec signed Monday an agreement with local firm Impact Hub Manila to co-produce 5 presidential and vice presidential debates, with the first one slated on March 19.
The series of debates will be called “Pilipinas Debates 2022: The Turning Point,” to be held at Sofitel.
Impact Hub Manila, the group behind Vote Pilipinas, is tasked to mount three presidential debates and two vice presidential debates on the following dates:
• March 19 – 1st presidential debate
• March 20 – 1st vice presidential debate
• April 3 – 2nd presidential debate
• April 23 – 1st vice presidential town hall debate
• April 24 – 1st presidential town hall debate
Inting in her speech pleaded to candidates to attend their debates, highlighting its importance in terms of helping voters discern who to pick on May 9.
“The public debate is the only avenue where you will witness all candidates side by side with each other…” she said.