4 candidates confirmed for panel interview so far —Comelec exec

Four candidates have so far confirmed their participation in the presidential and vice presidential panel interviews to be conducted by the Commission on Elections (Comelec) as substitute for the scrapped town hall debates.

At the Laging Handa public briefing, Commissioner George Garcia said two candidates have confirmed their participation. However, at a Comelec briefing later in the day, the number increased to four -- two presidential and two vice presidential candidates.

Garcia refused to disclose the names of the candidates who have made themselves available for the panel interview.

"Meron na pong nag-confirm sa ating dalawa subalit hindi muna natin ire-reveal yung mga pangalan po nila [Two candidates have confirmed their participation but we'll not disclose their names for now]," he said during the Laging Handa briefing.

Deadline

During the Comelec briefing, Garcia said all of the presidential and vice-presidential candidates are given until 5 p.m. on Thursday to inform the Comelec if they will participate in the panel interview or not.

“We give them only up to 5 o'clock this afternoon, all of them, 5 o'clock to communicate to us whether they will be participating or not,” he said.

On Thursday night, however, the Comelec said it has extended the deadline up to lunch time of Friday, according to a tweet by GMA's Tina Panganiban-Perez.

Garcia said the panel interview with push through even if only few of the candidates will participate.

After the deadline, the Comelec will hold a raffle to determine the order of the participating candidates, Garcia said, adding the interview will be "taped as live" and will have "no editing."

The Comelec scrapped its town hall debates — supposedly the last one in the series of debates leading to the May 9 elections — after its private partner, Impact Hub Manila, allegedly failed to settle its dues with Sofitel Philippine Plaza Manila, the venue for the previous debates.

Garcia, during Laging Handa, said the Comelec will send the panel to the location of the candidates to conduct the interview. Each candidate will be given an hour to discuss their insights and platforms.

The pre-taped interviews, to be conducted with the help of the Kapisanan ng mga Brodkaster ng Pilipinas (KBP), will be aired from May 2 to 6.

Of the candidates, only Ferdinand "Bongbong"  Marcos Jr., who is running for president, has categorically said that he would not be able to participate in the panel interview. 

According to Marcos' spokesperson Vic Rodriguez, Marcos “opted to conclude the entire 90-day campaign period with visits to his supporters and compliances with previous commitments for political events, like town hall meetings and political rallies.”  —KBK, GMA News