Earlier this afternoon at my current favorite news source, I read about ProCon‘s COMELEC petition to disqualify Gloria Macapagal–Arroyo for exceeding the maximum airtime for political TV ads. In just a few hours, what was supposed to be a test of the commission’s fairness and independence became another example of Filipino political gimmickry and magic—the said 120–minute limit applies on a per station basis! That is according to the COMELEC and its Chairman, Benjamin Abalos. The Fair Election Law states (taken from Sassy Lawyer’s post):
6.2. (a) Each bona fide candidate or registered political party for a nationally elective office shall be entitled to not more than one hundred twenty (120) minutes of television advertisement and one hundred eighty (180) minutes of radio advertisement whether by purchase or donation.
I don’t see any mention of the phrase “per TV station” at all. They should stop assuming Filipinos are that stupid.
It’s Abalos who’s STUPID.
We all know that, at least in this case. And we all know Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo stands to gain from this. Harap-harapan na tayong niloloko, pero ano ba ang magagawa natin?
A sad situation indeed, but that shouldn’t stop us from being vigilant and try to make a difference. I just wish they try to make their reasons (alibis?) more acceptable and easily understood; and not fool us with the amendment-clarification thing.
Kamusta