The proposal for a longer, earlier campaign period that was eventually shot down by the Commission on Elections (Comelec) may have prompted Comelec chairman Andres Bautista to call on voters to look beyond the sound bites and video clips of candidates’ campaign commercials during his recent visit to Cebu City.
This phenomenon of campaign commercials garbed in sheep’s clothing, i.e. to tug at the heart strings (at least until the candidate shows up) isn’t unique to the Philippines as the form is also practiced in Western societies like the US.
Campaign commercials and debates in the US, however, are more issue oriented and target specific platforms of each party and candidate. Case in point: the recent tirades by Republican Party presidential hopeful Donald Trump against immigration which drew a backlash among liberals but also support from conservatives.
The Filipino masses, however, while not ignorant of social media as evidenced by the recent surge of popularity of the so-called AlDub kalyeserye (street) TV series, tend to be swayed more by emotion rather than issues.
And this is what traditional politicians, especially those who cry persecution at the hands of the Aquino administration, are capitalizing on as they continue to portray themselves as nothing less than saints committed to public service regardless of the mountain of evidence that appears credible leveled against them.
They do this through campaign commercials—that’s what they are called because the Supreme Court ruled that there is no such thing as premature campaigning until he or she files a certificate of candidacy, after which they fall under the specific campaign period window imposed by the Comelec.
Which is just fine for now for politicians and the ad agencies they commission to produce commercials that may be entertaining to some but a nuisance to many.
At the risk of sounding jaded, let’s treat these campaign commercials as nothing less than product placements found in those infomercial TV stations—you know, those channels that advertise all sorts of products and services on a 24-hour basis.
At least those infomercials offer a money-back guarantee or warranty in which consumers are allowed to return or replace the product if they deem it to be defective or not up to standards.
On voting for candidates, the only money-back guarantee or warranty offered by the system for non-performing or, worse, corrupt and abusive officials is through that tedious, highly complicated and thoroughly inconvenient process called voter recall or impeachment.
Which is why we take heed of the advice to carefully examine and weigh the pros and cons of each and every candidate we vote for in much the same way that we buy our products and services or screen and evaluate job applicants—only that it’s a whole lot riskier.