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No Hugpong-Otso Diretso senatorial debate: Comelec
“The Commission en banc has deliberated on the request and the request will be denied,” Comelec spokesperson James Jimenez said in a statement.
MANILA — There will be no debate between senatorial bets of the administration party’s Hugpong ng Pagbabago (HNP) and the Otso Diretso opposition bloc, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) said Friday.
“The Commission en banc has deliberated on the request and the request will be denied,” Comelec spokesperson James Jimenez said in a statement.
He noted that they cannot hold such an event solely for two parties.
“Granting Otso Diretso’s request would be tantamount to giving preferential treatment to some senatorial candidates or slates,” the poll body official added.
He said it would also be difficult to conduct a debate since there are more than 60 aspirants running for senator.
“There are considerable time constraints, with only about two months remaining (before the mid-term polls),” he said.
Last week, Otso Diretso asked the poll body to hold a debate with HNP candidates.
