MANILA, Philippines – The Commission on Elections (Comelec) should reconsider its decision not to organize a debate between opposition coalition Otso Diretso senatorial candidate and rivals from the pro-administration Hugpong ng Pagbabago, detained Senator Leila de Lima said Monday. “The Comelec should realize that now, more than ever, organized debates among national candidates are important to expose the lies and fake credentials being peddled in social media by unscrupulous candidates,” De Lima said. Comelec recently denied the request of the Otso Diretso candidates to have an organized debate with their rivals from HNP, citing time constraints. READ: Comelec denies Otso Diretso’s request for debateBut De Lima argued that the poll body can still organize a debate given its resources. “The constitutional body is composed of hard-working and competent officials and rank-and-file employees who do not usually shirk from the challenges and demands of running nationwide elections,” De Lima added.

Source: Philippine Daily Inquirer March 11, 2019 04:52 UTC