TV ads by presidential bets down by over 50%

Political advertisements by presidential candidates have decreased by more than half during the second period of monitoring by media election watchdog Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility (CMFR). From March 1 to March 12, the CMFR said the number of political ads on Manila-based TV networks for presidential candidates went down to 128, or about 61 percent lower than the 336 ads monitored from February 9 to 27. The review covered the weekday primetime block of 6:00 pm to 10:00 for networks GMA-7, ABS-CBN 2 and NBN-4. All in all, CMFR said total political ads for candidates for president, vice president, senator, political party and party-list representative, as well as ads about the elections in general, went down from 854 to 474, or a decline of 44.5 percent. For the second period of its monitoring, CMFR found out that Liberal Party (LP) standard-bearer Sen. Benigno Simeon “Noynoy" Aquino III had outpaced his rival, Sen. Manny Villar Jr. of Nacionalista Party (NP), with 52 ads on GMA-7 and ABS-CBN 2. Villar only had 50 TV ads, according to the group. Former President Joseph Estrada of the Pwersa ng Masang Pilipino (PMP) registered the most significant decrease in the number of ads, from 98 in the first period to only 26 – or a 73.5 percent decline – in the second period. The total number of ads for vice presidential bets, however, increased slightly to 133 from 120. Ads for senatorial candidates meanwhile declined 57.3 percent from 356 to just 152. Bagumbayan’s Bayani Fernando, the running-mate of Sen. Richard Gordon, aired the most number of ads with 44 across the three networks. Aquino’s running mate, Sen. Manuel “Mar" Roxas II had 38; NP’s Sen. Loren Legarda, 32; and PMP’s Jejomar “Jojo" Binay, 16. The other vice presidential aspirants had no TV ads, according to the CMFR. The period monitored also saw two types of political ad according to the group: ads for party-list groups and ads for political parties rather than individuals. A total of 28 ads were aired on party-list groups during the period, but only Akap Bata Inc., rumored to be backed by Villar, had ads during the primetime block. Meanwhile, PMP was the only political party which aired ads during primetime on GMA 7 and ABS-CBN 2, with a total of 11 ads. Republic Act 9006 or the Fair Election Act gives national candidates and political parties only 120 minutes if advertisement on each local and cable TV channel, and 180 minutes on each radio station. Local candidates are likewise allowed only 60 minutes ads on TV and 90 minutes on radio. Violations may result in disqualification, disenfranchisement and one to six years of imprisonment. Political parties may also be fined not lower than P10,000. - KBK, GMANews.TV