At least P298M in public funds spent for infomercials

At least P298 million of public funds were spent for so-called government infomercials, acknowledged several Arroyo administration officials who have starred in the thinly veiled political campaign ads. The officials are all believed to be aspiring 2010 candidates. (See: PPCRV eyes no-vote campaign vs politicos with infomercials) The Arroyo administration’s infomercial expenses were detailed by three Cabinet officials and two other government executives during Friday’s hearing by the Senate Committee on Economic Affairs. Sen. Miriam Defensor Santiago called for the hearing amid a barrage of infomercials or "advocacy ads" on television more than four months before the official campaign season when political advertisements can legally air. (See: Comelec powerless vs premature campaigning for now – poll chief) Santiago demanded that the officials remove themselves from the infomercials or she would move to cut the ads out of their agencies' budgets.

During the hearing, Vice President Noli De Castro said that the Home Development Mutual Fund or Pag-IBIG whose board he chaired, spent P172 million for infomercials starring himself since 2007. He said he was promoting “not myself but the program of Pag-IBIG." De Castro, seen as a strong contender for the presidency, has yet to announce his political plans for 2010. Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation Chairman Efraim Genuino said Pagcor had spent P82 million for the said ads this year alone. Last year, ruling coalition party Lakas-NUCD included Genuino on its list of presidential bets. Department of Health (DOH) Secretary Francisco Duque, who is rumored to be eyeing a senatorial seat, said his office coughed up P32.4 million for his infomercials in 2009. The Metro Manila Development Authority’s infomercial expenses have reached P5.8 million this year, according to MMDA chairman Bayani Fernando, who earlier announced his presidential intentions. (Watch Fernando’s infomercial) The Department of Education, meanwhile, paid P5.7 million for info ads in 2009, said DepEd Secretary Jesli Lapus who has hinted that he may seek a senatorial post. (Watch Lapus’ infomercial)
Santiago grilled the officials during the hearing and demanded that they “pull out" the infomercials by the end of the month. “If not, when I submit my committee report, I'll ask the Senate to make a recommendation to the Ombudsman to prosecute every Cabinet member who appears in an infomercial after the deadline," said Santiago."In the meantime, we are humbly giving you free legal advice. You can continue with the infomercials, but please, take yourselves out." The senator also threatened to have the allocation for government advertisements removed from the proposed 2010 national budget. “We should eliminate this item because it is a standing invitation for an ambitious Cabinet member to project himself instead of his office," Santiago said De Castro said his office would study Santiago’s demand, but Duque argued that it has been the DOH’s practice to include its secretaries in the agency’s infomercials. For their part, Fernando and Genuino promised to comply with Santiago’s demand. Santiago threatened to order the arrest of other Cabinet members who had failed to attend the hearing. (See: Govt execs to skip Senate probe on infomercials) The senator invited 12 administration officials, but only half of them came. The sixth official, Department of Finance Secretary Margarito Teves, said his agency did not use government funds in its infomercials. At least two Cabinet members who advertise heavily, Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro and Interior and Local Governments Secretary Ronnie Puno, claimed that their ad funds came from private sources and not from their agencies' budgets Loren Legarda was the only senator who joined Santiago on the panel. During the hearing, Legarda asked De Castro why he had to appear in Pag-IBIG’s infomercials. Legarda, who was De Castro's vice presidential opponent in the 2004 elections, also has radio and TV infomercials. (Watch Legarda’s ad) De Castro said he was chosen to appear in the ad because he is the chairman of Pag-IBIG and thus could speak on the agency’s behalf. During the hearing, Pag-IBIG and Pagcor auditors said they already called the attention of the officials concerned about the sudden increase in the use of infomercial funds. Critics have said that the same funds could have been used by these cash-strapped agencies to provide needed services to the public. Budget Secretary Rolando Andaya said there was nothing wrong with the advertisements as these provided information to the public about government projects. “Maging totally blank sila kung ano ang ginagawa ng gobyerno (People would not have an idea of what the government did if we pulled out all infomercials. Maybe only those infomercials with the Cabinet members should be pulled out)," Andaya said. - GMANews.TV