The Philippines has agreed to overturn a 13-year-old ban on
political advertising, a move which is expected to benefit candidates in
local to Senate elections scheduled for May 2001.
Campaigns & Grey handled the pro-bono campaign, working with the
Broadcast Association of the Philippines to overturn the ban, introduced
in 1987 soon after "People Power" president Corazon Aquino came into
power and vowed to level the playing field for election candidates.
"What happened (with the ban) is that incumbents, celebrities, movie
stars and sports jocks benefited because they have the exposure and
profile to win elections," said the agency's group chairman Yolanda
Villanueva-Ong.
"Without political advertising, it was really difficult for anyone else
to win. It didn't really level the playing field."
In the last presidential elections, former movie star Joseph Estrada won
by a wide margin, aided to a large extent by his long reel-life career
of playing of tough, action heroes.
Ms Villanueva-Ong said the ban had been lifted, but the bill was before
a bicameral session, which will need to approve some changes, chiefly
spending caps, agreed upon.
"Hopefully, the ban will be lifted in time for the May 2001 elections,
so we will have a better field of candidates to choose from."
But, a delay is also expected since "events have overtaken us", Ms
Villanueva-Ong said, referring to the gaming scandal that has engulfed
President Estrada.
One of the issues which will need to be finetuned is the spending caps
for candidates, depending on positions being contested.
For example, the proposal called for three pesos per voter, which would
translate to 90 million pesos for a national seat.
"Candidates complained that the ban actually made campaigning more
expensive because they had to make more personal visits, but advertising
offers a lower cost per thousand," said Ms Villanueva-Ong.
While small in dollar terms, the large number of candidates that
normally contest a seat - 12 candidates slugged it out in the 1998
presidential elections - the removal of the ban is expected to translate
into a windfall for media properties, particularly the TV stations.
However, Ms Villanueva-Ong said TV stations may be asked to treat
political advertising as public service messages and offer discounted
air time.
Campaigns & Grey's next project is a campaign to teach voters about
their rights and responsibility, which is planned for early 2001.
