Duterte: It was correct for Bongbong Marcos to ‘decline’ presidential debates

FILE PHOTO: President Rodrigo Duterte in his taped weekly “Talk to the People” that aired on Monday, June 6, 2022. (Photo from an RTVM video posted on Facebook)

MANILA, Philippines — President-elect Ferdinand Marcos Jr. was right not to attend presidential debates in the run-up to the May 9 election, according to President Rodrigo Duterte.

For the outgoing chief executive of the country, election debates only benefited television marketers, who purportedly earned money at the expense of the public.

“During the campaign, we had a limited time to talk, and the next time that you are a candidate, you are invited to do that… Tama si Marcos, decline,” Duterte said Monday, in a speech at the oath-taking ceremony of his son, Davao City Mayor-elect Sebastian Duterte, and other officials of his hometown.

“We were only given half a minute or one minute and that’s it. You cannot even talk further… It was for show,” he added.

“It earns money for them at your expense sometimes,” Duterte continued.

Throughout the campaign, Marcos Jr. did not attend any presidential debate organized by the Commission of Elections (Comelec) or even those hosted by major media networks.

But he attended the debates hosted by SMNI, a media network run by Pastor Apollo Quiboloy, who has openly given his support for Marcos Jr.’s presidential candidacy and the candidacy of his running mate, Vice President-elect Sara Duterte, a daughter of the outgoing president.

READ: Marcos explains refusal to debate

Duterte’s term as president ends at noon on June 30, the same day Marcos Jr. will take his oath as the country’s new chief executive.

KGA/abc