Philippines set to lift 13-year prohibition on political advertising

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