Malacañang announced its disappointment in the Commission on Elections’ (Comelec) decision to drop the final presidential and vice presidential town hall debates.

In a press statement, acting presidential spokesperson and Communications Secretary Martin Andanar called the move “unfortunate”, citing that debates allow voters the opportunity to properly evaluate candidates’ platforms.

Andanar, however, welcomed the plan to hold a panel interview for presidential and vice presidential candidates in lieu of the debates.

“[The panel interview] is a welcome opportunity for candidates to explain their intention and agenda to the Filipino electorate,” he said.

Regardless of platform, Andanar emphasized the need to disseminate political information to the public prior to the May 9 elections.

“Informing and educating our people on the candidates vying for the presidency and the vice presidency in whatever platform is crucial in a vibrant democracy such as the Philippines. The Filipino people deserve no less,” he added.

On Monday, Comelec Commissioner George Garcia announced that instead of town hall debates, Comelec will conduct a panel interview with presidential and vice presidential candidates from May 2 to 6.

The debates, which were originally scheduled for April 23 and 24, were rescheduled to April 30 and May 1.

The cause of the delay and eventual cancellation of the debates is said to be misunderstandings between Sofitel Philippine Plaza management and Comelec’s debate contractor, Impact Hub Manila.

Earlier, Comelec received complaints from Sofitel management regarding Impact Hub Manila’s failure to settle its PHP 14 million debt from the previous Comelec debates also held at the hotel.