Elections are coming to the Philippines again in 2013 – but this time
some lawmakers are determined put a stop to all the posters and that candidates
use to claim credit for public works projects funded by the government.
It’s a common sight in the
Philippines: Local officials erect banners wherever they can, claiming that
everything from bus shelters to elementary schools to circumcision clinics was
personally provided by them, when in reality they are funded by taxpayers’
money. But for many Filipinos, including some lawmakers, enough is enough.
Among them, Senator Miriam
Defensor Santiago is pushing legislation that will prevent politicians or
bureaucrats claiming credit for projects built from public funds, and she hopes
that the bill can be signed into law before the next national vote in May 2013.
If it is passed, the legislation carries some strict penalties, including jail
terms of between six and one year and disqualification for any public official
who says “I built that” when they didn’t.
“It is a prevalent practice among
public officers, whether elected or appointed, to append their names on public
works projects which were either funded or facilitated through their office.
This is unnecessary and highly unethical,” Sen. Santiago wrote in the preface
to the bill when she filed it back in 2010, adding that it “promotes a culture
of patronage and corruption.”
It’s unclear how much support Ms.
Santiago will get from other lawmakers, many of whom rely on such tactics to
get elected in the first place.
But now she is getting some
strong backing outside of Congress. In recent weeks the campaign against these
“epals”, as such brush-and-paste politicians are known, is been driven along by
Websites and civil society groups such as the Anti-Epal Movement headed by
Vincent Lazatin. Mr. Lazatin says the group aims to “reclaim public property
from the clutches of traditional politicians.”
Political satirist Mae Paner,
meanwhile, also has taken up the cause. The term “epal” comes from the Filipino
world “mapapel”, which is used to describe people who take undeserved credit,
but Ms. Paner says it can also refer to the “personal glorification of
politicians.”
Inevitably, a Facebook page
www.facebook.com/nomoreepal has been set up to support the movement and provide
a place for people to submit photos of politicians allegedly abusing the
privileges of their office. As of Sept. 21 it had garnered 28,312 ‘likes’ from
users. There is even a smart-phone app to help supporters photograph and
quickly upload examples such as Paranaque City Vice-Mayor Gus Tambunting’s
“Plan: Cheap Bus” (brought to you in coordination with Mayor Jun Bernabe), or
Congressman Pong Biazon’s efforts to bring a “multi-purpose building” to the
good taxpayers of Muntinlupa City.
“The biggest positive effect is
that people have taken action,” said Betty Romero, who runs the anti-Epal
Facebook page. “We’ve been given a venue to stand up against something society
that is unethical and should be addressed and stopped, and we’re all responding
marvelously.”
The campaign already is having an
impact. Manila Mayor Alfred Lim struck his face from signs and tarpaulins
festooning the city, while Quezon City Mayor Herbert Bautista ordered the
removal of all billboards, streamers and signs bearing the faces and names of
city officials. In Valenzuela City, also part of the Mega-Manila
conglomeration, Mayor Win Gatchalian quickly followed suit.
President Benigno Aquino III, the
country’s most recognizable figure, doesn’t want his face plastered all over
place either. A long-time opponent of scatter-shot advertising, he has asked
immigration officials to stop putting his picture on immigration cards
distributed at the country’s airports. His single term as president expires in
2016.
“What is clear as far as the
President is concerned is that he does not want his picture posted in any
public works or any billboard, anything in relation to taxpayers’ money,”
spokesman Edwin Lacierda told a recent press briefing.
Josephine Cuneta
Business & Investment Opportunities
YourVietnamExpert is a division of Saigon Business Corporation Pte Ltd, Incorporated in Singapore since 1994. As Your Business Companion, we propose a range of services in Strategy, Investment and Management, focusing Healthcare and Life Science with expertise in ASEAN. Since we are currently changing the platform of www.yourvietnamexpert.com, you may contact us at: sbc.pte@gmail.com, provisionally. Many thanks.
No comments:
Post a Comment