Ralph, Kiko defend TV ads

Re-electionist Sen. Ralph Recto and Majority Leader Francis Pangilinan defended yesterday their television advertisements aired on major stations after they were accused of electioneering by a party-list lawmaker.

"Clearly, I did not break any law. I did not solicit votes. More importantly, the ad is an advocacy against Cha-cha (Charter change) and our need to think and work for one another," Recto said in a text message.

Recto’s camp noted that electioneering only applies to those who have already filed their candidacies, an act which both Recto and Pangilinan have not done yet.

The filing of the certificates of candidacy for the May elections starts on Jan. 15 and ends on Feb. 12 for senatorial bets and on March 29 for local candidates.

"We live in a democracy… she is entitled to her own opinion even if I disagree with it," Pangilinan said, without elaborating.

On Monday, Akbayan Rep. Risa Hontiveros said Pangilinan and Recto were guilty of electioneering if the Commission on Elections (Comelec) would fully implement the law on political advertisements.

Pangilinan, who appeared in a commercial ad with wife singer/actress Sharon Cuneta, early on announced that the talent fee he received for the TV ad was donated to the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) in aid of the juvenile justice advocacy and information campaign.

The P500,000 talent fee was signed over to Dr. Nicolas Alipui, the country’s representative to UNICEF, last Oct. 25 at the UNICEF office in Makati City.

"In the liberal interpretation of the law, yes (their ads are covered by electioneering)," Hontiveros said, as she proposed an amendment to the Fair Elections Act to minimize political ads.

The opposition lawmaker criticized the proliferation of "premature print and TV campaign ads" of politicians like that of Pangilinan and Recto, among others. She called for a stop to these "unfair, abusive and unethical advertisements."

Recto’s advertisement was a Christmas greeting from him and his family.

"These are clear cases of electioneering. If politicians truly wanted the public to have a Merry Christmas, they should have worked harder to give our people better lives," Hontiveros stressed.

Hontiveros pointed out that if these aspirants wanted voters to register, "then their parties should have instituted voters’ education programs to deepen the awareness of our people on the importance of exercising their right to vote."— Christina Mendez