Debates for presidential and vice presidential candidates for 2022 will be held face-to-face, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) said on Thursday.
“It will be face-to-face among candidates. Yesterday, there was a lot of talk about it being online and people were concerned that online meant the candidates will be virtual as well. They wouldn’t be,” Comelec spokesman James Jimenez told CNN Philippines’ The Source.
Jimenez said there could be up to six debates to accommodate the presidentiables and vice presidentiables.
“We are looking to have essentially six debates—three for president and three for vice president. We have three presidential debates as a general rule,” he said.
Vice President Maria Leonor “Leni” Robredo, Sen. Manny Pacquiao and Sen. Panfilo Lacson have expressed concerns over virtual debates and said they preferred in-person ones.
Meanwhile, in-person campaigns will be restricted amid the Covid-19 pandemic, Jimenez said.
“[W]e will be regulating the number of people who can participate in in-person campaigns. It is likely going to be determined in large part by alert level in a particular place,” he said. John Ezekiel J. Hirro