COMELEC WON'T TURN AWAY CANDIDATES ON DEBATE DAY, EVEN WITHOUT PRIOR CONFIRMATION
Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. and Sara Duterte-Carpio can still change their mind and decide to just attend the upcoming Commission on Elections (Comelec) presidential and vice-presidential debates on March 19 and 20.
Comelec spokesperson James Jimenez on Monday said candidates will not be turned away if they show up on debate day at the venue in the Sofitel, Manila.
“If they come on the day of the debate, they will not be turned away. It's up to them. The sooner they confirm, the sooner we can brief them on things like the set up, where they need to stay, ano kailangan gawin before hand etc. The same briefing that will be given to all candidates,” Jimenez said.
He said one candidate he declined to name has requested a walk-through of the venue.
“Bibigyan natin sila ng opportunity to walk the venue. This is important because they have to know where they will be appearing, ano ang posibleng gawin in that area, sino puwede nila isama. We are being very strict on the number of people they can bring.” Jimenez added.
“So it's important for the campaigns to know what is possible within the limits of the rules. Ngayon, kung ayaw mag-avail ng opportunities na yun, that's fine. If they come on the day of the debate, then good. Tara, debate tayo,” Jimenez said.
Before this, Jimenez had said they are not ready to call it quits with the candidates who have not given written confirmation of attendance.
"We are not ready to call it quits with them. We think that some people will take a little longer to come to a decision. We are willing to wait. The debate will be this weekend. So it will be very interesting to see if they will be there.”
Jimenez said the written confirmation is not a requirement to participate in the debate. However he stressed that showing up on debate day will mean an agreement to abide by the rules of the debate.
Marcos, Jr. and Duterte have declined to participate in the upcoming debates. | via ABS-CBN News
news.mikeligalig.comLinkback:
https://tubagbohol.mikeligalig.com/index.php?topic=122003.0
