MANILA, Philippines — Presidential aspirant Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. has declined to participate in a GMA interview with fellow candidates regarding their position on pressing national issues, the network reported on Friday night.
In a teaser for the Jessica Soho presidential interviews to be aired on Saturday night, GMA said it invited the five leading presidential candidates who had tapped pre-election surveys, and that all but Marcos agreed to take part.
The other candidates who sat down to answer questions were Vice President Leni Robredo, Sen. Panfilo Lacson, Manila Mayor Francisco “Isko Moreno” Domagoso and Sen. Manny Pacquiao.
The candidates were asked whether they would continue the Duterte administration’s war on drugs and assert the Permanent Court of Arbitration’s ruling in favor of the Philippines and invalidating China’s sweeping claim over the South China Sea.
They were also asked about the various controversies they had faced.
In the teaser, Soho said there would be more questions asked of them so that people would be able to get to know them better.
As of late Friday night, the Marcos camp has yet to say why he declined the GMA interview.
The hashtag #MarcosDuwag became the top trending topic on Twitter, with netizens criticizing his refusal to be interviewed.
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