No more televised presidential debates for now — Gibo

Administration party presidential bet Gilberto Teodoro, Jr. on Friday said he would no longer attend any televised presidential debate for now, citing the need to prioritize his campaign with local candidates. At a press briefing, Teodoro said he had already explained to the public his platforms and views on issues during the first weeks of the campaign period. "Hindi na ako dadalo ngayon. Kung malapit na ang araw ng halalan, baka pwede. Ngayon, wala ng issues sa participation ko sa debates. Saturated na lahat ng issues… Lahat ng issues na tinanong sa akin, na-articulate ko na to the max," he said. (I will no longer attend debates for now. Maybe later as election day draws closer. But as of the moment, there are no more issues to debate on. I have already articulated to the max my answers to all the questions asked of me about a number of issues.) Teodoro even quipped that "some of (his views) have already been adopted by other candidates." Teodoro, also the national chairman of the Lakas-Kampi-CMD party, said he needs to focus now on joining political rallies of his party’s local candidates across the country. "Our presence in local rallies is more important than televised debates. I am not after surveys. I am after the integrity of our party machinery at the local level," said Teodoro, who continues to fare poorly on various popularity surveys. He added that the start of the local campaign on Friday would "ultimately test the strength of his party’s machinery." The administration party will field 12,891 candidates for the 17,928 local elective posts in the upcoming May polls. Teodoro and the rest of his slate launched the administration party’s local campaigns through a motorcade around Metro Manila. [See: 'Green campaign' gives go signal for Lakas-Kampi's local machinery] He is expected to go to Tarlac and Cebu on Friday afternoon for various proclamation rallies. — LBG/RSJ, GMANews.TV