Pacquiao urges Comelec not to give debate questions in advance

Presidential candidate Senator Manny Pacquiao asked the Commission on Elections to reconsider its plan to disclose beforehand the general topics to be tackled in the upcoming Comelec-sanctioned debates.

In a statement, Pacquiao said presidential candidates who shun election debates and avoid full public scrutiny were “obviously not ready to lead the country.”

“Dapat ‘di ka mapili sa tanong kasi ‘pag tumatakbo kang pangulo ng Pilipinas, as much as possible, lahat ng tanong pwede itatanong sayo dahil ikaw ay nag a-apply na maging leader ng bansa. Kailangan open ka sa lahat ng mga tanong hindi ‘yung pipiliin mo ‘yung mga tanong,” Pacquiao said in a media briefing during his visit in Pangasinan.

(You should not be selective about the questions because when you run as president of the Philippines all questions should be asked of you. You are applying to be the leader of the country. You need to be open to all the questions, not just the ones you choose.)

“Tumatakbo kang presidente dapat handa kang harapin ‘yung mga tanong na maaring ibabato sayo. Handa kang sagutin hindi ‘yung aalamin mo ‘yung mga questions. Mahirap ‘yan," he added.

Comelec spokesperson James Jimenez previously said the poll body would inform the 2022 presidential and vice-presidential candidates which general topics would be tackled at the debate set in March.

Benhur Abalos, the campaign manager of presidential candidate Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., said they had asked Comelec about the details on the debate proper, including the debate format.

Despite his nine other rivals for the presidency committing to attend the said debates, Marcos said he was not yet sure if he would join as he was “still looking at the format.”

For his part, Pacquiao said it was best for the Comelec not to provide questions in advance so that the electorate can truly get a sense of the “purity” of a candidate's intentions.

“Siguro para hindi sila magkamali at mapag-aralan nila ang mga sagot nila. Pero mas maganda on-the-spot ang tanong para mabigla. Makikita mo yung purity kung anong nilalaman ng kanilang puso, kung tunay ba o hindi diba?“ Pacquiao said when asked about the precondition of some candidates for the Comelec debates.

([Some candidates want it done this way] so they won’t make mistakes and they can study their answers. It would be better if questions were asked on the spot so we would be surprised. You would see the purity in the candidate's heart, whether it was real or not.)

Pacquiao said on Friday that he was wary of candidates who dodged debates as he worried about what these candidates might do if they won in Eleksyon 2022.

“Debate pa lang natatakot na. Paano 'pag nanalo ka na? Nakakatakot baka magnakaw naman," he then said.

(They are already afraid in a debate, how much more if they win in the elections? It is frightening. They might be up to no good.)

In a statement, Marcos campaign spokesperson Vic Rodriguez said that Pacquiao "should be minding his own campaign," and that when a person is applying for a job, "he or she is expected to submit himself to an intensive interview and not to debate or be argumentative with the putative employer." — DVM/BM, GMA News