Some politicos’ ‘thank you’ messages go mobile

After appeals from authorities and from environmental groups, some winners in the recently concluded May 10 elections are using more creative ways to “thank" their supporters. In some areas in Metro Manila, politicians deployed mini-cabs to go around, bearing “thank you" messages to their constituents.

Some “thank you" tarpaulins were even seen placed on the hoods of private vehicles. Mobile thank-you messages started coming out shortly after the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority and environmental groups appealed to candidates not to place “thank you" posters and tarpaulins on walls and even power and phone lines. But other politicians still defied the appeals, placing their “thank you" messages in conspicuous parts of their respective local government units. Earlier, the MMDA appealed to some winners in the recently concluded May 10 elections to do away with "thank-you" tarpaulins now littering the metropolis. “The best they could do is lead their constituents on a cleanup drive in their community. They’re not only setting up a good example but it is also a big help to us here at the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority," MMDA Chairman Oscar Inocentes said in an article on the MMDA website. For its part, EcoWaste Coalition said winners in the election can better show their gratitude to voters by cleaning up their campaign mess. “Please understand that we have yet to clear the streets of campaign materials used in the last election and here you are aggravating the mess with a new wave of tarpaulins," Manny Calonzo of EcoWaste said in an entry on the group's blog. "Above all, the most meaningful 'thank you' that politicians can make is to offer the people a real honest-to-goodness public service minus self-aggrandizement and corruption," he added. — LBG, GMANews.TV