ASO, POSA jingles unfair to animals, says Lakas

"It’s the ultimate insult to man’s best friend."

Comparing dogs and cats to politicians through political jingles is a violation of the law, which protects the welfare of animals, Raul Lambino, chief legal counsel of the Lakas–Christian Muslim Democrats party said yesterday.

Lambino said it’s unfair to animals to use them as political propaganda and compare them to politicians.

He said the politician’s nature is contrary to that of pets. Dogs and cats are generally considered as faithful and loyal.

"Dogs and cats, which are considered companion animals, are protected by law from physical harm and other forms of exploitation," Lambino told The STAR in a telephone interview.

He was referring to the Animal Welfare Act or RA 8485, which criminalizes the slaughter and other forms of exploitation of dogs, cats, and other animals classified as "companion animals."

Lambino, also known as the spokesman for the Sigaw ng Bayan which was the main proponent of the failed people’s initiative, said aside from the possible libel charges to be filed by the politicians who are the subject of the controversial ASO (Aquino, Sotto and Oreta) and POSA (Pangilinan, Oreta, Sotto and Aquino), animal welfare groups may also file a separate complaint against the author of the ditty for violation of the animal rights law.

Lambino said using dogs and cats in a black propaganda campaign and comparing them to politicians is the worst form of exploitation of man’s best friend.

Administration senatorial bets Edgardo Angara and Vicente "Tito" Sotto III have filed yesterday a petition with the Commission on Elections (Comelec) seeking to stop the airing of the "ASO jingle" unless the identities of those behind it are made public.

In the petition, the two senators’ legal counsel Romulo Macalintal said that while his clients and senatorial candidate Tessie Aquino-Oreta were not specifically mentioned in the jingle, "the allusion of reference to them as the ‘ASO’ is clear and apparent because ‘ASO’ is the acronym or taken from the first letters of their surnames."

"As a matter of fact, a certain Mr. Rez Cortez, one of those known personalities who admitted making the distribution of the CD openly admitted in various broadcast interviews that the ‘ASO’ in the political jingle are petitioners Angara, Sotto and Oreta," the petition stated.

Macalintal clarified that his clients do not intend to stop the airing of the jingle but they wanted it to comply with the requirements of the law.

"Angara and Sotto should be given the right to reply to such charges published or aired against them and such reply shall be first printed or aired with the same prominence or in the same page or section in the same time slot where it was aired or published," he said in a statement.

Macalintal added that the jingle is "libelous" because its lyrics practically accuse Angara and Sotto of "receiving bribe or being turncoats hereby exposing them to public hatred, contempt or ridicule."

He warned that if the Comelec will not restrict the airing of the jingle, it would set a bad precedent on the country’s electoral system.

"It will open the floodgates to the airing or printing of similar election propaganda materials disguised as having been produced or made by supporters of a candidate when the truth of the matter is that it was the candidate himself who financed the production and distribution and airing of the materials," he added.

Meantime, Team Unity took a potshot at character actor Cortez, describing him as "kulang sa pansin" or lacking in attention.

"We can only surmise that the ones funding him are from the other side. I think it is safe to assume that," Eastern Samar Gov. Ben Evardone told The STAR.

Evardone, one of those handling the Team Unity campaign, expressed belief the voting public had matured and would not bite the kind of campaigning that opposition supporters like Cortez were doing.

"They are trying to destroy our candidates but on the contrary, I am sure their efforts will backfire because the people will realize their dirty works," Evardone added.

The ASO (Angara, Sotto, Oreta) jingle to the tune of the ’50s hit song "How Much Is That Doggie In The Window?" is a tirade against Angara and comebacking senators Sotto and Oreta for jumping to the administration from the opposition.

After ASO or dog in English, Cortez said they would release POSA (Pangilinan, Oreta, Sotto and Angara) to include independent candidate Sen. Francis Pangilinan, whom they have dubbed "Mr. Noted," among those they would poke fun at. POSA sounds like pusa in Filipino or cat in English. – Perseus Echiminada, Sheila Crisostomo, Aurea Calica