(Bloomberg) -- Philippine presidential front-runner Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. has declined to attend the first media forum for candidates seeking the country's highest post, the latest in a string of media absences while his campaign draws more support from social media users.
The late dictator's son will not be attending the virtual forum on Friday morning due to a schedule conflict, spokesman Victor Rodriguez said in a statement, referring to the event organized by the association of television and radio stations.
Marcos's rivals -- Vice President Leni Robredo, Manila Mayor Isko Moreno, Senator Manny Pacquiao, Senator Panfilo Lacson and labor rights activist Leody de Guzman -- have accepted the invitation to face a panel of journalists from several media organizations, Kapisanan ng mga Brodkaster ng Pilipinas president Herman Basbaño told dzMM radio.
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Marcos, who led the presidential race by a huge margin in a December survey, has drawn some criticism in the past weeks for avoiding several media interviews. Last month, the politician skipped interviews with GMA News and its dzBB radio, accusing journalist Jessica Soho of being “biased” and “anti-Marcos” -- a claim that the television network took exception to.
He has only granted interviews to a showbiz talk show host as well as to radio station. Marcos's campaign has been helped by social media posts by his supporters painting a nostalgic picture of the time when his father was in power.
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The Philippines will head to the elections on May 9 and Marcos currently faces a slew of disqualification cases that have yet to be decided on.
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