MANILA, Philippines--Does anybody really believe "remittance?? is spelled "LBC"? The Department of Education says some youngsters are confused.

And so, a remittance and delivery firm has pulled out an ad after the Department of Education complained that it has created confusion among young viewers.

Education Secretary Jesli Lapus on Saturday said LBC Express Inc. has voluntarily withdrawn its television advertisement, which proclaimed that the word "remittance" was spelled ?LBC.?

?We appreciate the prompt response of the LBC in stopping the airing of a misleading advertisement before it creates confusion in the minds of our young televiewers,? Lapus said in a statement.

The TV ad shows a young contestant in a spelling contest whose answer was adjudged correct when he answered ?LBC? in spelling the word ?remittance.?

In her letter to Lapus, Charmaine Canillas, chair of the Advertising Board of the Philippines, Inc. (ADBoard) said LBC ?has written the Ad Standards Council (ASC) saying that it is voluntarily withdrawing the material from media.?

Canillas added that ASC has already recalled the ?clearance to air? of the LBC television advertisement after Lapus requested the regulatory body to look into the LBC ad.

Canillas thanked the DepEd for its concern and assured it of the advertising industry?s continued cooperation ?in looking after the public?s welfare by continuing to promote the practice of self-regulation?.

?We recognize that LBC had no bad intention in their ad. We were more concerned about its possible adverse effect on the young viewers. It?s good the LBC had been very cooperative,? Lapus said.

Lapus noted earlier that the TV ad has drawn negative reaction from the public for conveying a wrong message ? that something obviously incorrect can be considered correct.

?We respect the advertiser?s right to promote the product or service that it offers but we believe that this type of advertisement would tend to confuse young viewers,? Lapus said.

?Mass media, particularly television, exerts a very strong influence on the minds of the young,? he added.

Javier Mantecon, LBC Marketing Director, said LBC has ordered its advertising agency to discontinue airing the advertisement immediately, adding that LBC ?values the education of the Filipino youth and highly regards the efforts of the Department in raising educational standards in the country.?

The wife of House Speaker Prospero Nograles, Rhodora B. Nograles, also spoke out against the ad and Optical Media Board Chairman Edu Manzano, who was featured on it.

?The ad, which used the spelling bee concept, directly conveyed that LBC is the correct spelling of the word ?remittance?. To say what is wrong is ?tumpak? (correct) is fundamentally wrong and it is worse to propagate it using the mass media,? said Mrs. Nograles, chair of the Congressional Spouses Foundation, Inc. (CSFI).