Pinoy VOTE

Team Unity reelectionist Sen. Edgardo Angara and former Sen. Vicente Sotto III are set to file today a petition with the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to stop the airing of the controversial ‘ASO’ jingle until the jingle "complies with the rule of the law."

Angara and Sotto’s legal counsel Romulo Macalintal said the petition was signed by Angara and Sotto to "indicate" their rights insisting that campaign materials should meet the requirements under RA 9006 or the Fair Elections Act.

The Fair Elections Act provides that election propaganda in any form should observe "truth in advertising" and is subject to supervision and regulation by the Comelec.

"We will ask the Comelec to stop the broadcasting of the "ASO" jingle unless it complies with all the requirements such as the identification of the person who broadcasted it. But we are not preventing radio stations from playing this kind of jingle if this is a valid election propaganda material," Macalintal said.

Macalintal said the "Kabataang Barangay" elections will be held in October and the "ASO" jingle is not a good example for youth leaders. "Sotto wants to advise the youth that this is not the kind of propaganda material that should be used in election campaigns."

Macalintal said he is not sure if former Sen. Tessie Aquino-Oreta will file a similar petition with the Comelec.

Supporters of the Genuine Opposition (GO) launched the jingle that portrayed Angara, Sotto and Oreta as political turncoats and compared them to dogs that wait for a bribe.

Before joining the administration ticket, Angara was President Estrada’s running mate during the 1998 elections under the Laban ng Makabayang Masang Pilipino (LAMMP) party while former senators Oreta and Sotto defended Estrada in the former president’s plunder charge during the impeachment trial.

In a separate interview, Sotto appealed to detractors to "raise the level of campaign," calling the jingle "unfair and out of bounds."

Sotto, however, said the jingle has actually worked for them as evidenced by the strong support Team Unity candidates got during the campaign in Mindanao.

Meanwhile, Team Unity yesterday said the decision of its rival Genuine Opposition to reject a public debate among senatorial candidates should be seen as a clear manifestation of the opposition’s inability to present an alternative economic reform agenda to the one being carried out by the Arroyo government.

Team Unity spokesman and Tourism Secretary Joseph "Ace" Durano, taunted the GO camp for presenting "flimsy excuses" in support of the opposition’s decision to thumb down the public debate that was to be sponsored by business groups.

Pichay said their group is looking forward to the holding of the debate with GO candidates "anywhere and anytime", saying that the verbal tussle would be an opportunity for the administration to expose the opposition’s lack of acceptable economic program.

Pichay took time off from the campaign to reunite with old friends and former classmates at the De la Salle University which staged on Saturday the "Greenerations" alumni homecoming. He was seen hobnobbing with fellow La Sallites graduates but now opposition rivals Sen. Sergio Osmena Jr., San Juan Rep. Ronaldo Zamora and lawyer Rufus Rodriguez, spokesman of former President Estrada.

Durano said GO’s rejection of the public debate proves that the opposition does not want an intelligent discussion of the issues that matter in the May 14 elections because it does not have an alternative program of government to speak of in the first place.

Durano described as a "lame excuse" GO’s proposal for the holding of the debate at Plaza Miranda instead of a venue like the Manila Hotel as proposed by the sponsoring group.

Durano said the GO’s observation that the business-sponsored debate would be "too exclusive" and would "not be fair" were flimsy excuses considering that the event would still be broadcast and reported by the media.

"Instead of coming up with all sorts of conditions, GO should just admit that the real reason behind their reluctance to engage in an intelligent discourse of the issues is their lack of a viable alternative program to challenge the results-oriented economic reform agenda of the Arroyo administration," Durano said. (Ben R. Rosario)

Also yesterday, Sen. Ralph Recto called on the government to cut the stigma of red tape to attract both foreign and local investments.

Recto said the government should earmark P2.1 billion for this year’s cyberservices to pursue its fight against red tape.

"But the simplification of rules should not be meant for foreign businesses only but for local entrepreneurs as well," he said in a statement.

He cited that the government’s effort to fight red tape would be the "best red carpet treatment for foreign investors."

The Team Unity senatorial candidate, who has espoused various economic bills, issued the call following the challenge posed by the American Chamber of Commerce in the Philippines to put a stop to red tape in an effort to attract billions of US investments.

"On the overall, business facilitation is aneffective come-on. Investors go for simplified rules. They want those who implement the rules given less discretion in interpreting these guidelines as these could be a cause of added cost," Recto said.

"Rules must not only be consistent but cohesive as well. But this is not to say that they must not be changed if the result is a streamlined and seamless way of transacting with the government," he added.

There should be "express lanes and one-stop shops" to give immediate access of government information and documents to businenessmen, traders and entrepreneurs, he said. (with reports by Ben R. Rosario and Charissa M. Luci)