Why Duterte is noncommittal to presidential debates

Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte.
INQUIRER FILE PHOTO/LYN RILLON

“Am I a candidate?”
Such was the response of Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte to the invitation of the Commissionon Elections (Comelec) for him to join the presidential debate.
“Until there is a resolution to my case, (I will not attend),” he said.

READ: Comelec body junks DQ petition vs Duterte
He said the Comelec should resolve his disqualification case before inviting him to a debate.

“Now you (Comelec) invite me to a forum, and then the day after, you disqualify me. How do you think I would feel? And how do you think people would look at me?” he said.

Duterte said he is ready to join the Comelec’s presidential debate once his disqualification case is resolved.

“If there will be a resolution on my case, I will be there,” he said.

Several petitions have been filed before the Comelec questioning the legality of Duterte’s presidential run. Despite these, his name was still included on Comelec’s initial list of presidential aspirants.

The Comelec has actively urged aspirants running for national positions to participate in its debates. It earlier announced that presidential aspirants Vice President Jejomar Binay, Senators Grace Poe and Miriam Defensor Santiago, Liberal Party standard-bearer Manuel “Mar” Roxas and OFW party-list representative Roy Señeres have expressed willingness to attend the debates. IDL

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