The Way We Do It
abueno@theguidon.com
The next time you watch Manny Villar’s ads on television—you know which one I’m talking about—pay attention to the children. Pay attention to how their eyes waver, how unnatural their poses are, how canned their singing is.
These observations alone make me sure: I am not voting for Manny Villar. Or any other candidate like him, for that matter.
How could I vote for someone who exploits children so openly in public television? A candidate who does not have any consideration at all for how these children are portrayed on TV—I see them used as mere campaign instruments—certainly has distorted ideas of what comprises basic media ethics.
“Respect for the intellect of the public at large” is one guiding principle for a successful political campaign (say experts in a 2007 PCIJ article). Aside from insulting the sensibilities of those children, Villar’s ad, as an example, also insults the critical faculties of anyone who watches it. “Si Manny Villar ang magtatapos sa ating kahirapan”? Motherhood statements and empty promises like this have been debunked a long time ago. “Si Villar ang tunay na mahirap”? If you were, you wouldn’t be spending this much!
It would have been forgivable if Villar’s ads—or any other political ad polluting TV today—were only distasteful. If you summarize Villar’s jingle, it basically says: “I am the only one who can understand the poor, so vote for me!”
Villar uses his experience with poverty to appeal to the masses, similar to how Erap once fancied himself a Messiah for the poor or how Mar volunteers to drive a boy’s padyak. The ads have glamorized poverty and have somehow skipped the essential part of any self-respecting campaign: what makes the candidate qualified to be president? That you have been poor (or that you will “save” the poor) is not exactly a relevant qualification.
To glamorize poverty is also to forget how pressing and richly complicated this problem is, that it does not bear utilizing as a tool to elevate oneself from other candidates.
That the images of the poor are so easily used in any context—exploitative or not—shows how far we have yet to go in understanding poverty. A candidate who does not see how his ads portray the poor is one I would distrust as a future president, whose capabilities and intentions I will doubt.
Many candidates wring around the words “kahirapan,” “kinabukasan,” “kaunlaran” so easily, you would think we’d be rid of our problems by uttering magic words or spreading pixie dust. Haven’t we recognized these issues are complex and require long-term solutions that cannot be articulated in a 30-second ad? “Si Villar ang tunay na may malasakit” or “Lalaban tayo” just doesn’t cut it.
One gets angry at ads like Villar’s because of their thoughtlessness. I am not mad because I am disgusted, or because I think the ads are, for the lack of a better word, “jologs.” Even my untrained eyes can see the children’s hesitation while “acting” and singing in the ad. My ears can detect the effort to cage poverty in a box. My mind can read the mindless cultivation of a false hope for the voters.
Villar’s platform, like many others’, promises an “all-out war” against poverty. But first, he and other candidates like him have to win the battle present in their own advertisements, which ridicule the very thing they claim to be fighting.
Oh thank God I’m not the only one who finds Manny Villar’s campaigning strategy disgusting. It feels so good to have someone else share my opinion. But, he may actually win because of his brilliant campaigning strategy. Contrary to popular belief, Erap wasn’t the first president to capitalize on the poor (his “Erap para sa m,ahirap” slogan isn’t the first presidential slogan being pro-poor. The honor goes to Ramon Magsaysay and his “Magsaysay is your man” slogan. By now, you might be wondering what is the connection, well, this actually shows one fundamental weakness found in us Filipinos: collective amnesia. Apparently, we Filipinos easily forget history that, I hope this doesn’t happen, some Filipino voters would fall for Villar’s campaign strategy. I am sincerely praying to the All-Father of all creation that Filipino voters would be wise to Villar’s schemes. If He doesn’t answer my prayer, well EDSA V here we come (which I hope will not happen, we’ve had enough of these so-called People Power movements thank you very much).
SOme people may find Villar’s ads appealing, but i totally consider them deceptive ads and waste ideas. He’s gaining popularity at the expense of exploiting those children.