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The enormously costly air war for the presidency has in recent weeks ceased being the exclusive domain of moneyed politicians and political parties. The new players and big buyers of political advertisements on television are seven apparently cash-rich party-list groups accredited by the Commission on Elections as supposed representatives of the âmarginalized" and presumably poor sectors of Philippine society. Three of the seven groups are neophytes in the electoral arena. How they managed to raise funds to purchase TV ads is a fishy mystery. The content of the ads helps clarify the mystery: These party-list ads invariably say nothing about the party-lists' advocacies and focus only on extolling the image, message, and virtues of the top two candidates for president â the Liberal Partyâs Benigno C. Aquino III and the Nacionalista Partyâs Manuel B. Villar Jr.? By all indications, this curious arrangement between these party-list groups and the leading candidates is also a âcreative" way of circumventing the airtime and spending limits prescribed in the Fair Election Practices Act or Republic Act No. 9006.
Party List Groupsâ Ad Values and Indicative Ad Spending on TV (February 9 to April 17, 2010)
Party List Group
Total Ad Values for TV(1)
Total Indicative Ad Cost for TV(2)
AAPS
9,757,894
5,366,842
Akap Bata
41,035,879
24,340,972
AKB
6,074,553
3,341,004
Akbayan
33,253,290
18,289,310
AGHAM
2,366,362
1,301,499
Anak Mindanaw
570,240
313,632
Buhay
1,712,700
941,985
CIBAC
250,906
137,998
(1) Ad values were based on Nielsen Mediaâs data, which are computed based on TV networksâ published rate cards. (2) A 30-percent discount was applied to TV ad values per RA 9006. An additional 15-percent discount was applied for TV ads aired starting March 1, 2010 to approximate the average increase in TV ad rates.
Who is using who, that is not clear for now, however. These âmarginalized" party-list groups have apparently fallen into the trap of big-money politics where, in order to win, a party or candidate must command name recall by burning loads of cash on air. Meanwhile, the top two candidates who have maxed out their airtime limits on the top networks have been afforded a chance to ride piggyback on the unused airtime limits of these party-list groups. (Seven other party-list groups have aired TV ads that feature their respective advocacies and make no reference to presidential candidates.) Unwitting hosts? As of April 27, four party-list groups have aired TV ads that invariably extol candidate Villar. These are the AAPS or Association of Administrators, Professionals, and Seniors (formerly known as the Association of Retired Teachers or ART according to the groupâs website), AGHAM or Alyansa ng mga Grupong Haligi ng Agham at Teknolohiya Para sa Mamamayan, Inc., Butil, and earlier, Akap Bata. Three other party-list groups have aired ads that project candidate Aquino (Akbayan) or his two prominent endorsers, independent Senator Francis âChiz" Escudero (An Waray) and re-electionist governor of Batangas, actress Vilma Santos-Recto (AGAP or Agricultural Sector Alliance of the Philippines). Akap Bata was the first to air ads that mimicked Villarâs âDagat ng Basura" ads. After a PCIJ report exposed the curious arrangement on March 11, Akap Bata cancelled the balance of its ads â already paid for -- and ordered the top networks to stop airing the same.
Contracts cancelled Reports submitted by ABS-CBN Broadcasting Corporation to Comelec showed that as of March 9, Akap Bata had signed three separate advertising contracts with the network for 107 spots of 30-second ads that should have run from March 5 to 27 on Channel 2. Akap Bata paid up-front a total of P23,941,915.60 for the three contracts. Following media inquiries into the groupâs possible ties with Villar, the ads of Akap Bata suddenly stopped airing after March 11. In a memorandum dated March 11 to GMA Network â where Akap Bataâs ads had also been airing â Akap Bataâs media agency ordered the network to "hold all spots of Akap Bata Party List" effective immediately.
Click the picture for a larger view of the media memorandum from Akap Bata
Its interrupted foray into TV ads notwithstanding, Akap Bata had by then aired ads on ABS-CBN 2, GMA 7, QTV 11, and TV5 from February 26 to March 11. Altogether, the groupâs ad buys had run a total indicative cost of P24.3 million, according to Nielsen Media. (The PCIJ computes the indicative ad cost by applying a 30-percent discount on the published rate cards of TV networks â as required by the Fair Election Practices Act â and an additional 15-percent discount to approximate the average increase in TV advertising rates starting March 1, 2010). Asked to explain the Akap Bata fiasco in early March, first nominee Dr. Joy Alcantara told reporters that it was a simple case of a party-list group riding piggyback on the popularity of a presidential candidate. Election lawyers, however, saw the arrangement in reverse â the candidate riding piggyback on the airtime credits of the party-list group. Lost lesson But the lesson of Akap Bata seems totally lost on other party-list groups that are now also serving as the hosts, wittingly or unwittingly, of ads extolling the top two candidates for president. As of April 27, the names of six other party list groups have been appearing in the end tags of political advertisements featuring Villar and Aquino. Following Akap Bataâs lead is the party-list group AAPS. Its ads, if not for the last frame showing the groupâs name, seem to have come straight out of Villarâs production house. The groupâs declared advocacy is the promotion of the welfare of retired educators and professionals but its ads feature Villar talking about poverty and comparing the Philippines with its more developed neighbors Thailand, Malaysia, and Singapore. The groupâs name appears only in the last frame with this tagline: âManny Villar at AAPS Party List, Karanasan, Kakayahan, Kontra Kahirapan." P58-M AAPS ads Based on reports ABS-CBN 2 submitted to the Comelec, AAPS had already secured ad spots with the network giant until May 8, 2010, the end of the official campaign period. It signed an advertising contract with the network on April 14, 2010 for 248 spots of 30-second ads worth P58.4 million in cash.
Click the picture for a larger view of the Advertising Contract
TV networks impose a âpay before broadcast" rule on political ad buyers. Dr. Edna B. Azurin, AAPSâs first nominee, signed the contract that was booked by ad agency Starcom Philippines, the same agency that represents and books ads for Villar and the Nacionalista Party in ABS-CBN, GMA7, TV5, QTV 11, and other TV blocktime programs and cable networks. Nielsen data show that in just two days â on April 16 and 17 â AAPS had spent an indicative amount of P5.4 million on ads at ABS-CBN 2 and GMA 7 alone. Another party list group that promotes Villarâs candidacy is AGHAM or the Alyansa ng mga Grupong Haligi ng Agham at Teknolohiya Para sa Mamamayan, Inc. It has aired different versions of ads extolling Villarâs record in providing housing and livelihood, job creation, and education. Villar himself is the poster-boy in all the ads. And in the pattern of the Akap Bata and AAPS ads, AGHAMâs ads make only fleeting mention of the groupâs name in the last frame with this tagline: âManny Villar at AGHAM Party List, Karanasan, Kakayahan, Kontra Kahirapan." Interestingly, two versions of AGHAMâs ads feature the same female and male child talents who performed in Villarâs âDagat ng Basura" ads. This is AGHAMâs second bid for a congressional seat. It first ran but lost in 2007. Angelo B. Palmones, former station manager of ABS CBN 2âs dzMM radio, heads AGHAM. On April 17, the day AGHAMâs ads first aired, the group spent P1.3 million. The latest to join the flood of ads in favor of candidate Villar is veteran party-list group Butil, which is credited as sponsor of the ads featuring Villarâs mother, Curita âNanay Curing" Villar. The two-part ad first came out on April 26, the same day Villarâs mother and siblings appeared at a press conference to insist that Villar grew up in abject poverty. The ad shows âNanay Curing" talking about the illness and death of son Danny, and lamenting the criticisms hurled at son Manny. Butil Party List first ran in 1998 and has since been elected to seats in Congress. The group gets token mention in its own âNanay Curing" ads that bear the tagline, âManny Villar at Butil Party List, Galing sa mahirap, tumutulong sa mahihirap." P18-M Akbayan ads Not to be outdone, the Liberal Party candidate, Noynoy Aquino, has also marshaled party-list groups in his air war for the presidency. One such group is Akbayan, whose representative Risa Hontiveros is a senatorial candidate of the LP. Akbayanâs ads, which began airing last April 9, make no mention of the groupâs advocacies or achievements in its 12-year stint in Congress. Instead, the ads extol the qualities of Aquino as a candidate, and show footage of Aquino being cheered on by campaign rally crowds. Akbayan gets no mention in its own ads until the last frameâs tagline, âNoynoy Aquino and Akbayan Partylist: Ipapanalo ang Mamamayan." All the ads were âpaid for" and âpaid by" Akbayan Party List as well. Per Nielsenâs data, in just one week when its ads aired, Akbayan had already spent P18.3 million. Another party-list group airing ads that seem to benefit Aquino is AGAP or the Agricultural Sector Alliance of the Philippines, which aims to âprotect and promote the welfare of farmers" according to the groupâs Multiply account. Its official website was hacked recently. The ads that are âpaid for" and âpaid by" AGAP feature actress Vilma Santos-Recto, re-electionist governor of Batangas and wife of LP candidate for senator, Ralph Recto. Santos-Recto is shown endorsing Aquino for the entire duration of the AGAP ads. Again, it is only in the last frameâs tagline where the group gets mention: âAGAP (Agricultural Sector Alliance of the Phil.) No. 47 sa balota." AGAPâs headquarters is located in Lipa City, Batangas. It is currently represented in the 14th Congress by Nicanor M. Briones and Cesar A. Cobrador, who remain the groupâs first and second nominees for the May 2010 elections. A third party-list group whose ads redound to Aquinoâs benefit is An Waray, whose website proclaims it to be âthe representative of the poor and marginalized in Congress." The groupâs ads feature Senator Francis âChizâ Escudero endorsing Aquino as his presidential candidate. Like Akbayan and AGAP though, An Waray is almost a non-entity in its own ads until the last frame kicks in: â83 An Waray Party List." Nielsen data are available only up to April 17 and thus do not yet cover the ad values of Butil, AGAP, and An Waray as of this writing. Apart from these seven party-list groups, seven others have aired television ads which focus on their respective advocacies, and without any references to the presidential candidates. This second group of seven party-list groups airing unique ads are Agbiag, AKB (Ako Bicol Political Party), AMS (Alyansa ng Media at Showbiz), Anak Mindanaw, Buhay, CIBAC (Citizensâ Battle Against Corruption), and PBA (Pwersa ng Bayaning Atleta). â PCIJ, April 2010