After scrapped debates, Marcos also skipping Comelec panel interview
MANILA, Philippines — Presidential bet Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., who has so far preferred interviews to debates, has begged off from the panel interview of the Commission on Elections set on May 1.
This means Marcos will have foregone the two-day presidential debates and the last leg of the electoral forums for candidates that the poll body organized.
His spokesperson Vic Rodriguez said in a statement that Marcos "has decided to forego his participation in the Comelec’s presidential panel interview which was scheduled May 1, 2022."
Rodriguez said the Partido Federal ng Pilipinas bet thanks the Comelec for the invitation as "he acknowledges the importance of joining such an important event."
Rodriguez said Marcos decided to end the campaign season with visits to supporters and to fulfill prior commitments for political events.
Debate-averse, media-shy Marcos
With the campaign season in its last stretch, Marcos has mostly kept his activities to caravans and sorties. He has shunned most debates and forums.
The Marcos campaign previously said they prefer one-on-one interviews where candidates would not be pitted against each other and their bet will have more time to elaborate their platforms — the format of the Comelec’s concluding event for the Pilipinas Debates 2022 series.
In an interview aired this week with CNN Philippines, Marcos said he is not inclined to appoint a spokesperson if he gets elected because presidents should be able to address questions themselves.
He also said he is puzzled why there are claims where he is difficult to be accessed for ambush interviews despite reporters' experiences on the campaign trail.
On Tuesday, hours before his taped CNN interview aired, Marcos sat down for a rare press conference in Cagayan de Oro. Rappler, quoting local media, however said invitations to the event were limited and questions were also pre-screened.
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