SIX presidential and four vice presidential candidates in the May 9 polls have agreed to join the interview series to be conducted by the Commission on Elections (Comelec) and the Kapisanan ng mga Brodkaster ng Pilipinas (KBP).
In a list provided by the Comelec, set to participate in the "PiliPinas Forum 2022" are presidential aspirants Ernesto Abella, Leody de Guzman, Norberto Gonzales, Faisal Mangondato, Jose Montemayor, and Senator Manny Pacquiao.
Also confirming their participation are vice presidential bets Rizalito David, Manny Lopez, Senate President Tito Sotto, and Carlos Serapio.
"It's the final list," said Comelec Commissioner George Garcia in a text message.
Opting to skip the activity are presidential bets Mayor Isko Moreno, Senator Panfilo “Ping” Lacson, Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr., and Vice President Leni Robredo.
Also not participating in the activity are vice presidential candidates Lito Atienza, Walden Bello, Sara Duterte-Carpio, Willie Ong, and Senator Kiko Pangilinan.
Garcia said the candidates, who will not be participating, cited conflict of schedules or having previous commitments as their reasons for skipping the event.
Last Thursday, April 28, the Comelec and the KBP formalized their partnership for the panel interview sessions set to air from May 2 to 6, 2022.
In the agreed guidelines, the PiliPinas Forum 2022 shall be a series of one-hour panel interview sessions between a single candidate or team of candidates (president and vice-president), to be conducted by a panel of broadcast anchors drawn from KBP-member networks.
The main body of the interview will be divided into three segments, with each segment being devoted to an interactive discussion between the candidate and the panel.
The first segment (10 minutes) will tackle inflation, poverty, jobs, wages, livelihood, and business.
The second segment (10 minutes) will revolve around education, healthcare, and Covid-19 response.
The third segment (12 minutes) will then touch on a variety of current issues, such as red-tagging, press freedom, attacks on civil society, attacks on mainstream media, fake news, e-sugal, electoral reforms, gender issues, political dynasties, dealing with disasters and calamities, use of nuclear energy, resurrecting the Bataan Nuclear Power Plant, foreign policy, judicial reforms, and appointees.
The interview may be conducted either live and in-person; live and via teleconference call; or taped as live with no editing depending on the candidates’ preference and availability.
It said the order of sessions, whether live or recorded, will be determined by draw lots to be conducted by the Comelec and KBP.
The interview sessions will be aired from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m., from May 2 to 6, 2022, by Bombo Radyo Philippines, Radio Mindanao Network, ABS-CBN Broadcasting Corp. (Teleradyo and ANC), TV5 Network Inc. (One PH and OneNews), CNN Philippines, and Radyo Pilipino, among others.
To recall, the PiliPinas Forum 2022 is the replacement of the foiled five-debate series, known as PiliPinas Debates 2022.
This was after the Comelec's private partner, Impact Hub Manila, encountered financial issues with the venue of the PiliPinas Debates 2022, Sofitel Philippine Plaza. (HDT/SunStar Philippines)