The Pichay lesson in political ads

By Ellen Tordesillas

Some are concerned that with the lifting by the Supreme Court of the airtime limits on political advertisements, we would be bombarded with all those propaganda in the next 30 days.

Less-moneyed candidates are worried that they would be drowned by those with money to burn. Independent senatorial candidate Teddy Casiño said the SC’s ruling favors wealthy candidates or those backed by the ruling elite.

“Ginawang parang unli text, unli call.The problem is its steep cost,” he said. TV ad rates, depending on the time slot, would not go below P250,000 for a 30 second ad. A candidate would need some P30 million for the remaining four weeks of the campaign.

” It is disgusting that the SC has decided against the Comelec’s effort to rein in expensive campaigns which poor or cash-strapped candidates like me cannot afford,” Casiño lamented.

The SC yesterday restored the old regulation of 120-minute limit for national candidates’ political ads over each TV station and 180 minutes over every radio station. For local candidates, the limit reverts to 50 minutes over each TV station and 90 minutes for each radio station.

The Comelec last January limited political ads national candidates to 120 minutes on all TV networks and 180 minutes for radio. For local bets, the limits were 60 minutes on TV and 90 minutes over radio.

I’m turned off by the lies and hypocrisy of many of the senatorial candidates’ TV ads. But I trust the Filipino viewers/voters. Although TV is till the number one source of information on elections, they don’t swallow hook line and sinker all that they see and hear on TV.

Proof is Prospero Pichay, Jr in the 2007 elections. Remember the ridiculously hilarious “Magtanim ng gulay sa Senado ” ad of Pichay? He was the biggest spender in the 2007 elections with P151 million.

Oh well, he moved up from the bottom to no. 16. But the point is, TV viewers were not enticed to plant Pechay in the Senate. The joke was had the campaign period been extended and more people turned off by his ads, Pichay would been pushed further down the list.

Contrast that to Antonio Trillanes IV , who was then in detention and whose ads appeared only in the last two weeks of the campaign, yet placed made it to the Magic 12. (He was number 11.)

I take the SC decision as re-distribution of wealth, a very much welcome feature of democracy. Let those who have so much wealth spend their money on TV ads. Let’s just hope that broadcast network share they money with their employees.

Christopher Boga, an engineer who is now a seaman wrote reacting to a previous column about people in our barrio in Guisijan, Laua-an, Antique voting for Trillanes as their way of thanking him for the P1 million allocation of his Priority Development Assistance Fund, popularly known as pork barrel to a farm-to-market road in their place.

Excerpts from Boga’s letter:

“Medyu natuwa ako dahil kahit papano ay merong nagkusang loob na tumulong sa paagpapaayos ng kalsada sa inyong barangay.

“Nakakalungkot pong isipin na sa kabila ng mga ipinagyayabang ng ating gobyerno na Farm to Market road project ay kailangan pa rin nating magmukhang pulubi sa panghihingi sa ating mga kagalang galang na pulitiko para lang maambunan ng kanilang pork barrel. At ang mas nakakalungkot isipin ay kung sino pa ang mga hindi taga roon sa ating lugar sa Panay ay sya pang may puso na mapagbigay katulad nalang po ni Sen. Trillanes.

“Umuwi po ako kasama ang aking buong pamilya noong pasko at napakaganda nga ng Iloilo city ngayon. Pero naalala ko noon pang mga nakaraang administrasyon wala silang ibang bukambibig kundi farm- to -market road.

“”Tuwing eleksyon hindi mawawala ang ganyang plataporma. Tuwang tuwa naman ang mga pobre nating mga magsasaka. Pero pagkatapos nilang ibenta ang kanilang mga boto, lupaypay na naman ang balikat dahil lista sa tubig lang lahat ng mga pangakong iyon.

“Nakakaawa tingnan ang mga batang estudyante na nagsisiksikan sa isang single na motorsiklo para lang makapasok dahil hindi madadaanan ng four-4 wheels ni tricycle man lang ang kanilang lugar. May batas tayo na naglilimita kung ilan lamang ang dapat isakay ng single na motorsiklo, bakit hindi tingnan ng ating mahal na pangulo mismo para mapagisip isip nya ang kanyang ipinangangalandakan? “

“ Sinikap nyang sa pamamagitan ng napakaliit na budget ng barangay at sa pamamagitan rin ng panghihingi sa matataas na pulitiko sa probinsya ng Iloilo ay mapasemento ang sira at madulas na daanan galing sa aming barangay papunta sa bukirin. Nakapasemento rin sya ng 20 metros, inuna muna nya ang pinakamahirap na daanan.Ang plano nya sana, kahit 20 metros kada taon kung matuloy tuloy iyon, siguro mabubuo rin ito. Subalit noong mga nakaraang eleksyon nakalimutan ng aking mga kabarangay ang kanyang mga ginawa dahil sa kakarampot na salapi. At dahil sa prinsipyo ng tatay ko, sa madaling salita, natalo sya. Ngunit sa kabila ng kanyang kabiguan, nandyan pa rin sya, tumutulong pa rin sa ikagaganda ng barangay. “

Boga, who is from Iloilo, related that his father was a barangay captain for 20 years.

“Hindi sya nagtanim ng sama ng loob, basta ang tanging laman ng puso nya ay makatulong. Kahit mawala man ang tatay ko, may mga iniwan naman syang kapaki-pakinabang na proyekto sa aming barangay. Ganyan ang tatay ko, hindi nagtapos kahit elementary school ngunit nasa puso nya ang maglingkod. May God bless him.”