Pacquiao to join presidential townhall debate if Marcos Jr. attends

Tagbilaran City, Bohol - Presidential candidate Senator Manny Pacquiao on Friday said he would attend the Commission on Elections (Comelec) presidential and vice-presidential town hall debates if his rival Ferdinand Marcos Jr. would also attend.

"Pero kung mag-attend 'yung isang kandidato for the first time, baka mapipilitan talaga ako um-attend," Pacquiao said in a media briefing in Tagbilaran when sought for comment on the reset of the town hall debates previously scheduled for this weekend.

(If the other candidate will attend for the first time, I may be forced to attend the town hall debates.)

"Kung mag-attend talaga si Ferdinand Marcos Jr., mag-attend ako," Pacquiao added.

(If Ferdinand Marcos Jr. will definitely attend, I will attend.)

Pacquiao reiterated he had nothing personal against Marcos Jr. and it was his prerogative whether to attend debates or not.

"Ang akin lang ay sayang naman ang pagkakataon na magiging kumpleto kami sa debate," he said.

(What I'm saying is that a good opportunity of us presidential candidates being complete in the debate will be missed.)

Pacquiao said he was undecided on attending the town hall debates due to his prior campaign commitments in other parts of the country with just two weeks left in the campaign period before the May 9 elections.

"Hindi pa ako sigurado kung makadalo o hindi. Gusto kong dumalo, kung ma-adjust natin 'yung mga schedule natin na na-commit na natin. Kumabaga nag-commit na tayo ng mga schedule," he said.

(I am not yet sure if I could attend or not. I want to attend if we can adjust our scheduled commitments. We had committed to these schedules.)

The Comelec on Friday announced that the vice-presidential and presidential town hall debates scheduled for April 23 and 24, 2022, respectively, had been rescheduled.

They were reset to April 30 and May 1.

The debates were postponed after it was reported on Thursday that Comelec's contractor, Impact Hub Manila, had yet to fully pay Sofitel Garden Plaza, the event's official venue. Philippine Plaza Holdings Inc. (PPHI), Sofitel's owner, threatened to pullout from their agreement.

PPHI, according to reports, had demanded payment after the checks Impact Hub issued bounced. — DVM, GMA News