Duterte to boycott CDO debate if local media kept from venue

Davao Mayor Rodrigo Duterte INQUIRER/ MARIANNE BERMUDEZ

CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY—Presidential aspirant Rodrigo Duterte said he may not show up for the scheduled presidential debate organized by the Commission on Elections (Comelec) here on Feb. 21 in support of local journalists who had complained about the restricted coverage with the limited seats allotted for members of the media.

“I will not go there if they limit the [media coverage],” Duterte told reporters after his appearance at the thanksgiving prayer of televangelist Apollo Quiboloy, the mayor’s friend, on Sunday night.

The Inquirer and its election partner, GMA 7, will host the first presidential debate, in which the five presidential candidates are expected to present their platforms on pressing issues centered on poverty reduction, Charter change, peace and order, and agriculture.

Duterte, apparently not getting the whole picture, said he will talk to PDP-Laban president Sen. Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III about the issue with the press.

The Cagayan de Oro Press Club said it would boycott the election debate series after learning about the limited participation of the local press in the coverage of the event.

The group said only five slots will be reserved for Cagayan de Oro-based media as the venue can accommodate only 500 people.

Only five local newspaper reporters will be allowed access to the event’s media center—a separate venue where a video monitor will broadcast feeds of the debate, the group said.

Space limitations

The National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP) said it understands the concern of the local media in Cagayan de Oro.

“We acknowledge that space limitations inevitably require that admission to the venue of the debate will need to be regulated.

“However, we also believe that the organizers and hosts of the event should provide a large enough venue where the largest possible number of journalists—both community and Manila-based—cover the debate through monitors,” NUJP chair Ryan Rosauro said in a statement.

“We agree with the Cagayan de Oro Press Club that the process of choosing the next leader of the country is so important that every opportunity available to journalists to be able to inform the broadest segment of the public must be optimized,” he said.

Media may get 25 seats

Rosauro suggested that the organizers of the debate and the local media hold dialogues “to iron out the process of selection and accreditation of journalists who will cover the debate.”

Meanwhile, the Comelec Monday distanced itself from threats by the local media to boycott the debates.

Comelec Chair Andres Bautista said it was up to the organizers of the presidential debate to settle the issue.

The debate will be held in Mindanao at Capitol University in Cagayan de Oro City from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.

“I believe it is already being addressed by the Inquirer and GMA 7,” Bautista said Monday when sought for comment about the issue.

In a separate interview, Bautista said that while the Comelec initiated the debate, it is the organizers who will have a say on the rules of coverage.

Late Monday, Comelec spokesperson James Jimenez said 25 slots would be provided for Cagayan de Oro media members.