Blaring poll jingles irk parishioners in GenSan
GENERAL SANTOS CITY — Don’t want to lose precious votes?
Then keep the volume of ear-piercing campaign jingles down because these are becoming increasingly annoying to parishioners.
Fr. Ariel Destora, director of the Social Action Center of the Diocese of Marbel, on Monday slammed the political noise blaring from roving speakers deployed by moneyed candidates to woo voters.
He said campaign vehicles playing the jingles at full volume disrupted services when these passed by the church.
“The mobile sound systems playing really loud campaign jingles are detestable,” Destora told the Inquirer.
The campaign staff should be respectful to places of worship, including churches and mosques, especially when services are going on, and residential areas, the priest said.
If at all, the volume should be lowered when approaching places of worship, he said.
Campaign staple
Vehicles playing catchy jingles have become a staple of local campaign across the archipelago. Campaign trucks mounted with huge amplifiers roam vote-rich communities.
But in some instances, instead of endearing candidates to the public, they are becoming a source of irritation.
The sound systems are often too loud that they cause the earth to shake, Father Destora observed.
He said these ear-piercing amplifiers are not compassionate, stopping short of calling for a boycott of the candidates.
Screaming amplifiers
But the screaming amplifiers “may not have the blessing of the candidates but merely an initiative of their eager-beaver supporters,” he said.
Duque Kadatuan, acting election officer of South Cotabato province, has appealed to operators of mobile sound systems to regulate the volume, especially when passing by residential communities before the break of dawn when people are still asleep.
Commission on Elections Resolution No. 10488, which was promulgated on Jan. 30, is silent about campaign noise.
Meantime, priests have fanned out across the Diocese of Marbel to educate parishioners about candidates who are committed to 4Cs: common good, competence, credibility and compassion.
The diocese has pastoral jurisdiction over the provinces of South Cotabato, Sarangani and parts of Sultan Kudarat and the cities of Koronadal and General Santos.
