CNN Philippines facilitated a presidential debate last night February 27, 2022. Attended by all aspiring candidates except Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos, Jr. who declined for the nth time.

In the said forum, candidates were asked what made them decide to run for presidential race 2022. Leodegario "Ka Leody" Q. De Guzman answered saying, he wants to stand up on behalf of the workers’ rights. According to GMA News Online, De Guzman claimed that capitalists and huge businesses were given more importance on the previous administrations rather than laborers.

Dr. Jose Montemayor, Jr. on the other hand said that this should not be the focus of the government since it is still recovering from the pandemic. Moreover, Montemayor emphasized that the government should not focus in just one sector (pertaining to laborers). This led to a rebut statement from De Guzman saying, "Akala ko absent si Marcos nandito pala. Eh wala nang pinuri kung hindi kapitalista at wala nang kinagalitan kung hindi mga manggagawa kaya dinudurog ang hanay ng mga manggagawa..."

After the forum, this certain rebuttal moment between Ka-Leody De Guzman and Montemayor hype the netizens’ speculation stating that Ka-Leody’s answer might outwit Sen. Manny Pacquiao’s standing as 5^th in the national survey. It obviously shows that with the use of debates and forums from left and right, presidential candidates are being filtered. And people are changing their choice of candidate as the election day approaches.

Meanwhile, aside from Marcos, Jr.’s declination, Mayor Sara Duterte and Rep. Lito Atienza did not show up as well.

Sources: https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/topstories/nation/823319/ka-leody-on-anti-labor-montemayor-i-thought-marcos-was-absent/story/

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