Miriam asks Palace help in stopping ‘infomercials’

Likening government officials who use public funds to advertise themselves to a “thick-skinned rhinoceros," Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago on Monday urged Press Secretary Cerge Remonde to stop infomercials featuring government officials. “They are all thick-skinned and should be shot on sight," Santiago said in the opening of her privilege speech. Santiago said Remonde, being the head of the Communications Group in the Office of the President, should discharge its duty under the Executive order 511 to supervise public information activities. Figures provided by the Commission on Audit showed that among the top spenders on infomercials were Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (Tesda) chair Augusto Syjuco with P28.3 million; Makati Mayor Jejomar Binay, P23.4 million; Vice President Noli De Castro, P18.1 million; Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (Pagcor) chair Ephraim Genuino, P14.1 million; and Health Secretary Francisco Duque, P13.2 million.

She said she would be requesting the Office of the Ombudsman, Commission on Elections (Comelec) and the Department of Justice (DOJ) to criminally prosecute Cabinet officials who would not pull out their infomercials. Santiago said she believes the infomercials were meant to promote the head of the agency, especially those who are eyeing an elected post in next year's elections, instead of the government projects at the expense of the people’s money. “Why didn’t they start publicizing their pious duty to appear in paid media, specially TV, when they assumed office, many years ago? Gentlemen of the Cabinet, how do you explain the timing of your highly-paid TV infomercials?" Santiago said. She added that even assuming that infomercials have a specific legal basis, there is no lawful foundation for the appearance of the agency's head in a state-funded infomercial, particularly when the latter is planning to run in the elections. “I challenge any of these executive officials to cite any such specific law. There is none. There is no legal basis for infomercials. They are illegal," she said. During the hearing on the infomercials of Cabinet officials last week, the senator demanded (http://www.gmanews.tv/story/169804/Miriam-demands-pullout-of-Cabinet-execs-infomercials) the pullout of the advertisements by the end of the month. Duque admitted that the P32.4-million the DOH spent for infomercials in 2009 was provided by the National Center for Health Promotion, which was approved by the Congress. De Castro said the Home Development Mutual Fund or Pag-IBIG corporate fund financed the P172-million ads of the agency for radio and television since 2007. Education Secretary Jesli Lapus said the Department of Education spent P5.7 million from its budget for the ads while “a bigger amount of P20.4 million is donated by the networks under Republic Act 8525, or the Adopt a School program." In a press statement, DILG assistant secretary Brian Raymund Yamsuan said the government did not spend a single centavo for the production and airing of the agency's infomercials that feature its secretary, Ronaldo Puno. He said it was a private sector-led group Friends of Ronnie (FOR) that spent for the infomercial. "We would like to assure the public that no funds of the department were used for the infomercials. FOR had publicly stated that its members had taken it upon themselves to support the advocacy of Secretary Puno," Yamsuan said. - GMANews.TV