FORMER senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. yesterday skipped a debate among presidential candidates for the May elections and focused instead on his campaign in Pangasinan, the third most vote-rich province in the country.
Marcos, in his BBM Vlog posted on Saturday night, said he joined a similar event last week hosted by media network Sonshine Media Network International (SMNI), where he and fellow candidates talked about their platforms and some of the issues confronting the country.
Yesterday’s debate, hosted by CNN Philippines and held at the University of Sto. Tomas, was attended by all the nine other candidates, unlike the SMNI event which most major candidates skipped the network’s owner has openly endorsed Marcos’ candidacy.
“Malalim-lalim ang kanilang mga pagtatanong kahit na apat na oras, kulang pa rin sa dami ng gustong magtanong at gustong maitanong ngunit sa aking palagay, iyung mga napag-usapan namin ay naipaliwanag naman ng mabuti ang mga posisyon ng bawat kandidato (the questions were deep and four hours was not even enough as many wanted to ask questions. But I think, all the candidates were able to answer and explain their position),” he said in the 200th episode of BBM Vlog.
SMNI is the broadcasting arm of televangelist pastor Apollo Quiboloy who has endorsed Marcos and running mate Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio for president and vice president.
Marcos’ camp earlier said he would skip the CNN debate because of conflict in schedule while Duterte-Carpio also did not attend CNN’s debate for vice presidential candidates on Saturday as she attended sorties in Zamboanga City.
On Sunday, Marcos continued his campaign tour in Pangasinan where he held motorcades that culminated in grand rallies in Rosales and Malasiqui. He held a grand rally in Binalonan on Saturday night.
Duterte-Carpio was in Zamboanga City on Saturday and around the Davao area on Sunday.
Marcos said they have yet to visit the whole Pangasinan but he already considers their campaign in the province a success given the warm welcome, they have received.
Marcos and Duterte-Carpio emphasized the need for unity to move the country forward, and reiterated their promises of job creation, strengthening the agriculture and tourism sectors, and continuing the Build, Build, Build infrastructure program of President Duterte.
Marcos vowed to strengthen his campaign using different social media platforms to reach more people. The Bongbong Marcos YouTube channel has over 1.91 million subscribers, Facebook account with about 4.8 million, Twitter and Tiktok accounts with some 1 million followers each, while his Instagram account has over 714,000 followers.