MANILA, Philippines—Many are called, few show up—but this one often seems to be left out.

The youngest presidential candidate in the May elections Tuesday complained about being snubbed by the organizers of various debates and forums, saying that they owed it to the voters to invite all 10 Palace contenders.

“If they really want voters to make the right and intelligent choices, there should be equal exposure for all candidates,” said Olongapo City Councilor John Carlos “JC” De los Reyes, standard-bearer of Ang Kapatiran Party (AKP).

In an interview at the party headquarters in San Antonio Village, Pasig City, De los Reyes, who is turning 40 on Feb. 14, said the “prominent people” behind the forums seemed to belittle AKP’s platform of “new politics” and its issue-oriented campaign.

The four-year-old, Church-based party is also fielding lawyer Dominador Chipeco for vice president, eight senatorial candidates, and over 50 local candidates nationwide.

Why no invites

The senatorial lineup includes Rizalito David, Jo Aurea Imbong, Zosimo Paredes, Grace Riñoza-Plazo, Adrian Sison, Reginald Tamayo, Hector Tarrazona and Manuel Valdehuesa.

AKP Secretary General Eric Manalang cited a simple reason why De los Reyes had not seen much stage time: “We’re not being invited because we’re not rating in the surveys.”

In the latest Social Weather Stations survey released two weeks ago, a mere 0.4 percent of the respondents said they would vote for De los Reyes.

He tied with another bottom-dweller, Sen. Jamby Madrigal, out of the presidential candidates approved by the Commission on Elections, which totaled eight at the time. The Comelec added two more candidates—Nicanor Perlas and Vetellano Acosta—on Jan. 14.

The latest Pulse Asia survey did not include De los Reyes’ name in the questionnaire.

Manalang recalled that the Carlos P. Romulo Foundation for Peace and Development, for example, limited the number of participants when it held a presidential debate last week at the Asian Institute of Management (AIM) in Makati City.

List cut for ‘substance’

Quoting a statement from former Foreign Affairs Secretary Roberto Romulo, the foundation chair, Manalang said the host group gave this explanation:

“In the interest of securing a substantive discussion of the policy ideas of the candidates, we have narrowed down the forum participants to the five leading presidential candidates based on public opinion surveys and general public perception.”

But of the five survey leaders, Manalang recalled, only three eventually showed up at AIM: Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro Jr. and senators Manuel Villar Jr. and Richard Gordon.

Sen. Benigno Aquino III and former President Joseph Estrada did not attend, citing conflicts in their schedules, he said.

“We were hurt because we’re presenting ourselves but they did not want us. These groups ask people that there should be change, and yet here are the people [of AKP] who want to drive that change and they’re not being given exposure,” Manalang said.

Also ignored in Cebu

De los Reyes also said business groups in Cebu, which organized a presidential forum scheduled Jan. 22 at the Cebu International Convention Center, have so far ignored AKP’s letter asking that he be allowed to participate.

The forum will only feature the “top six presidential hopefuls based on most recent surveys,” he said, quoting a statement from the organizers.

The Jan. 22 forum is being hosted by the Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Mandaue Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Cebu Business Club.

The six invited candidates were Aquino, Villar, Estrada, Gordon, Teodoro and evangelist Eddie Villanueva.