Movie star presidential candidate Fernando Poe, the best-placed challenger to Philippine President Gloria Arroyo in the May election, must be compelled to join an April debate or the incumbent would also refuse, a spokesman said yesterday.
Poe's camp has said the high-school drop-out may be unable to join the April 13 debate sponsored by the Commission on Elections (Comelec) and a Roman Catholic Church-run poll monitoring body because it could be a "trap" to embarrass the political novice.
"We urge Comelec to exercise its moral suasion to convince Mr. Poe to appear and explain his platform of government on nationwide TV and on prime time," presidential spokesman Ignacio Bunye said.
He said that should the Comelec fail to convince Poe, Arroyo herself "will have to beg off from any debate."
While the president believes the public should be given a chance to know the candidates, a debate without "one of the principal contenders would not serve its purpose of giving the electorate an informed choice," Bunye said.
The other candidates -- former education secretary Raul Roco, ex-police chief Panfilo Lacson, television Christian evangelist Eduardo Villanueva and businessman Eddie Gil -- have said they would join the debate.
Poe's failure to present a concrete platform has scared businessmen, who see him as unqualified to run the presidency in a country where the majority of its 82 million citizens live in poverty.
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