By NITZ ARANCON
Correspondent
THERE is no assurance yet that presidential candidates would show up here for the first of a series of presidential debates scheduled before the May elections, the regional director of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) said.
The first debate, scheduled on Feb. 21, would be held at the Capitol University (CU) here.
Comelec regional director Renato Magbutay said all qualified presidential candidates were already notified of the scheduled debate, and were sent invitations.
“But they are not obliged to attend the debate but it’s their moral obligation as candidates. They are supposed… they should come,” Magbutay said.
Magbutay said the presidential debate at CU, from 5 pm to 7 pm, Sunday, Feb. 21, is open to the public.
“Those who want to listen, they are free to come,” he said.
Magbutay said three presidential debates–one each in Mindanao, Visayas, and Luzon–would be staged in line with an agreement signed by Elections Chairman Andres Bautista with the Kapisanan ng mga Brodkaster sa Pilipinas (KBP), GMA-7, and the Philippine Daily Inquirer.
After Cagayan de Oro, the next debate would be held in the Visayas, and the last would be in Luzon.
“It’s going to be a big event in Cagayan de Oro,” Magbutay said of next month’s scheduled debate.
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