‘The campaign period of any national and local elections stands out from any public
and church holidays as the only one that makes the mouths
of broadcast network owners and executives water.’
PRESIDENTIAL candidate Manny Pacquioa shone with an intense sincerity during GMA 7’s Presidential Interviews hosted by the multi-awarded Jessica Soho. In trying to articulate his economic platform, he invoked his lifelong commitment and fierce dedication in raising his own family to lifting the country from its present woes.
Vice President Leni Robredo and Mayor Isko Moreno both manifested their exceptional diligence in the pandemic and said they have embraced the staggering but beloved responsibility of helping the sick and suffering to survive and thrive.
A better life counts more for Moreno than for Sen. Ping Lacson who, despite his firm grasp on upright governance, seemed weighed down by some criminal controversies. Yorme lists “buhay ng tao” as his topmost concern.
More than advancing his political power, Pacquiao, an avowed Biblical believer, should adhere to the moral conduct and discipline of his faith at a time when his voice is needed to quell the corruption and various wrongdoing during the campaign for the coming national elections. He considers himself as God’s ambassador representing His righteousness and justice but has seemed waylaid by the popular unchristian practices of trying to win votes.
Pacquiao maybe a longshot to win the presidency but he should lead through a shining example on how to carry out a truly honest and clean political campaign even if he knows he is going to lose. Instead of giving out money, he should conduct a parallel campaign against vote-buying and its various tacit forms. He should draw a line between giving away money during the political season and out of it when his genuine generosity is felt by countless indigents and calamity victims.
Pacquiao should engage as a reformist more than a politician in the heat of the campaign calling out other candidates and restraining them from dishonest and nefarious ways which voters, pleased with handsome cash gifts and large dole outs, have commonly ignored. He is aware the challenging task will offer no reward for him but only animosity and disgust from most voters and politicians alike, but that the impact will grow and influence the next political exercises in the country. And above all, as he and the rest of the Christian community will relish, God will get the glory and honor for such an extraordinary accomplishment.
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Broadcast media can truly do its part for honest and fair elections by downgrading its vested and commercialized interests The campaign period of any national and local elections stands out from any public and church holidays as the only one that makes the mouths of broadcast network owners and executives water. The cost of political ads are nearly three times those of commercial radio and TV ads, to the disadvantage of the less powerful and less moneyed but equally qualified candidates. A 30-second TV commercial today goes for P200K.
The image and presentation of most candidates do not make them more fit to be elected but only because the skillful and creative ad production have made them so. Truth in advertising ceases to be an essential function of the marketing and broadcast industries during these times.
GMA 7 and ABS-CBN have led the major radio and TV networks in cornering the huge political ad market. Online media makes the promotional package larger. To balance the wide disparity in exposures, other candidates who have less means should be allowed as much ample airtime possible under a scheme “subsidized” by the networks’ principled commitment to democratic fairness and equality.
