The Commission on Elections (COMELEC) will be reviewing penalties for candidates who will not attend the upcoming episodes of “PiliPinas Debates 2022”, within the week.

“We will address this particular problem in the en banc session this Wednesday,” said COMELEC Chairman Saidamen Pangarungan. 

When questioned on applying heavier sanctions, Pangarungan added “This debate is purely voluntary. We cannot force candidates, who will refuse to participate.”

COMELEC’s current sanction to those who refuse to participate were not allowed to air e-rallies. Commissioner George Garcia said that the poll body was only following existing laws and won’t create punishments that are not supported by the legislation.

The discussion on penalties were opened after aspiring vice president candidate Walden Bello questioned the actions of COMELEC and urged them to impose heavier sanctions for non-attendees. 

Only Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. and Sara Duterte did not participate in the event. In earlier statements, UniTeam confirmed that the aspiring presidential candidate will not be joining the COMELEC’s debates. Bongbong’s spokesperson clarified that their team preferred conducting face to face campaigns to share their candidate’s platform.