2022 Philippine presidential debates

PiliPinas Debates 2022 is the debate series organized by COMELEC. The first presidential debate was held on March 19, 2022, while the first vice presidential debate was held on March 20, 2022.

Candidates will be following safety protocols stated by Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) with no audience participation due to the risks of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.^[18] The electoral commission will organize the debates themselves, a deviation from 2016, where they let media organizations organize them.^[19]

Other organizations can hold third-party debates and the COMELEC can accredit these debates. The commission released guidelines and rules for debate accreditation on February 23.^[20]

Sonshine Media Network International (SMNI) organized a debate at the Okada Manila in Parañaque. The participants were Abella, de Guzman, Gonzales, and Marcos. The debate was not attended by several candidates, citing several reasons for their absence. Lacson declined due to Quiboloy's endorsement of Marcos. Pacquiao declined to participate due to the indictment of Apollo Quiboloy, leader of the Kingdom of Jesus Christ which is affiliated with SMNI, allegedly for sex trafficking by the United States government. Moreno and Robredo cited scheduling conflicts and prior commitments for their non-attendance.^[21] The debate featured a 4-person panel headlined by Clarita Carlos, a professor of political science at the University of the Philippines.^[22][23] The topics addressed were foreign policy, the disclosure of Statement of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth (SALN) to the public, the country's education system, the candidates' stance on the Communist Party of the Philippines and its ongoing rebellion, and other key issues.^[24][25][26] The debate was livestreamed and garnered 2.5 million views in YouTube and 2.1 million views in Facebook.^[27]

On February 26, CNN Philippines held a debate in Manila, preceding their presidential debate on the same location. Seven candidates participated in the debate; Atienza was not able to participate as he was undergoing surgery, while Duterte declined to participate.^[17] The debate was moderated by journalists Ruth Cabal and Rico Hizon. The debate discussed the candidates' plans for pandemics, corruption, and other key domestic and foreign issues.^[28] Vice presidential candidate Bello notably attacked the Marcos/Duterte tandem for their non-attendance in debates and criticized fellow aspirant Sotto for being allied with the current administration. After interrupting other candidates, an action that was against debate rules, his microphone was temporarily turned off.^[29]

CNN Philippines organized a debate at the Quadricentennial Pavilion of the University of Santo Tomas in Manila, moderated by journalists Pia Hontiveros and Pinky Webb.^[30] The debate was attended by all candidates except for Marcos, who cited prior commitments.^[31] There was no live audience, and each candidate spoke in front of a podium. Segments were dedicated to the candidates' plans and proposals regarding solving corruption in the country, development of infrastructure, foreign policy, and other issues, alongside addressing some of the controversies associated with the candidates.^[32] Mid-way throughout the debate, the network's website was targeted by a DDoS attack.^[33] After the debate, the performances of Lacson and Robredo were praised online,^[34][35] while Pacquiao was criticized for his stance on the LGBT.^[36]

SMNI will hold a second presidential debate on March 26. The network originally planned to hold a vice presidential debate on February 22 but cancelled it and replaced it with a second presidential debate.^[5]