Today's political ads, insulting to the voters' intelligence
The deteriorating quality of political advertisement in our country today has gone from bad to worse, and has even turned out to be grossly insulting to the intelligence of the Filipino electorate. These candidates and their social handlers and marketing team must be thinking that the voters are totally stupid or brainless as to buy such cheap messages claiming that their bets are amazingly compassionate, especially in times of crises. Or they appeal to raw emotions by depicting their candidates as coming from extreme poverty and destitution. There is even a senatorial bet who wants to capitalize on his grave and fatal ''faux pas'' and ask the people to bless his struggle to become pure again. My God.
Consider this bet from eastern Philippines who seems to be claiming that he is the inventor and has the exclusive patent to that innate Filipino culture and value, which is "Malasakit." Without saying it, this candidate's ad appears to suggest that when Yolanda hit and devastated his region, he was like a sole messiah who graciously came down from Mount Olympus to distribute mannah to his beleaguered people. He might have forgotten that the whole nation, in fact, almost the entire world, helped his people. His ad should have been truthful enough to tell the whole truth. Thus, we have heard a lot of negative reactions from the intelligentsia. Even other politicians from his own region have some harsh words against the ad. The question is: Did it make him qualified for senator?
Another bet appears to touch the peoples' hearts when he recited some five or six narratives about poverty and destitution, with an emotional refrain: '' Alam ko po 'yan." Going to school without "baon." Not being able to sleep soundly at night because he is not sure if the landowner in his urban poor settlement would not demolish their shanty. "Alam po nya yan." He told of being hospitalized and his mother had to leave him in a while to do some laundry for others and earn a few pesos to pay for the medicines and the hospital bills. "Sabi nya, alam din po nya yan." He told of having had to work as a tricycle driver under the scorching sun or rains and winds just to earn food money for himself and his family. And then, again, he would say the mantra: "Alam ko po yan." We are deeply touched, but do all those hyperbole make him senatoriable?
Still another candidate was excluded from the line-up of his party because he committed the serious error of inviting sexy dancers during a congressman's birthday bash. In his ad, this senatorial bet is trying to turn around that major blunder and capitalize from it. All these have nothing to do with the technical requirements of the job. All these kind of ads do not have socially-redeeming values because they do not elevate the level of maturity of the voters. The appeal to the emotions of the people. They are nothing but ''argumentum ad populom," or, even, at its worse, argumentum ad absurdum." To those who know how to think, these ads are grossly insulting to the intelligence of mature and conscientious voters.
Even the presidential ads are below expectations. Mar Roxas has not been sensitive enough to detect that the people are not buying the "Daang Matuwid" line. Referring to poor people who availed of Philhealth and DSWD programs as beneficiaries of the ''Daang Matuwid." This kind of argument commits the fallacy of ''argumentum non-sequitor." Moreover, Mar Roxas is copying the ad line of Vice President Binay. This is not to say that Binay's ads are perfect. They are too melodramatic and do not say anything about the attacks against his character. It seems that Binay is totally ignoring all ''the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune." The better ads are those of Senator Poe, "Ayosin Natin Ang Pilipinas," and Mayor Rody Duterte's "Baguhin Natin Ang Pilipinas." But alas, both of them may be disqualified.
What we are looking for in a political ad is balance between touching the heart and not forgetting the brains. Candidates should educate the voters and not take advantage of their naiveté, their lack of savvy on political issues that really matters in national leadership and governance. Candidates' ads should not be patronizing the masses nor ''making bola'' that are grossly insincere and peremptory. The electorate will never mature nor develop a higher political consciousness if our presidential, vice-presidential, and senatorial bets keep on feeding on their lack of political sophistication. A political campaign should educate the people and not perpetuate their gullibility and impressionability. We still have time to level up this campaign. And the candidates' assessment of the people is what matters most.
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