Poe camp says TV networks cleared ads

Television networks applied strict ethical standards in approving the latest political advertisement of Sen. Grace Poe, according to Rex Gatchalian, spokesperson of the independent presidential bet.

Gatchalian made this remark after legal experts the other day criticized the TV commercial of Poe showing ordinary people comparing her disqualification cases with that of her father, the late Fernando Poe Jr. They said Poe’s accusations could put the Supreme Court in a bad light.

In the new 30-second ad, four neighbors in front of a sari-sari store are shown watching a news report about Poe on television. One of them, a woman, replied in the negative when asked by her grandmother if it were true that Poe had been disqualified as a presidential candidate.

One man then said, “Eh ganyang-ganyan din yung ginawa nila sa tatay niyang si FPJ eh (That’s what they did to FPJ, her father),” as the woman continued: “Pero sa huli, pinayagan ng Korte Suprema na tumakbo (But in the end he was allowed by the Supreme Court to run).”

The man then quipped, “Parang pelikula lang ’yan ni FPJ. Nagpapabugbog sa simula! (It’s just like one of FPJ’s movies. He allows himself to get beaten up in the beginning).”

The TV ad also features people talking about Poe’s disqualification from the May election, with one of them saying she remains a candidate for President despite this.

Strict ethical standards

“Networks adhere to strict ethical standards. All proposed advertisement goes through each network’s ethics committee before it is aired,” Gatchalian said in a statement.

If the TV commercial failed to meet standards, these would not have been broadcast to the public, he said.

“We’re sure if the networks will not allow any ad to air if it is against ethical or legal standards,” Gatchalian said.

Election lawyer Romulo Macalintal, former University of the East College of Law dean Amado Valdez and litigation lawyer Raymond Fortun, in separate interviews with reporters, said Poe’s disqualification cases were different from that of her father, who ran but lost to President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo in the 2004 presidential election.

“They both had disqualification cases but they’re not the same because the issue with Senator Poe is her being a foundling and her residency while FPJ’s was direct disqualification on citizenship,” said Macalintal, Arroyo’s former election lawyer.

For his part, Valdez said the “objective” of Poe’s latest ad was to influence the Supreme Court, where three cases, two of which have been consolidated, were pending, with oral arguments scheduled for Jan. 19.

The former law dean, one of those who filed the disqualification case in the Commission on Elections against Poe, said the senator’s camp might be trying to hit two birds with one stone through the new ad.

“Such subtle suggestion may be double-edged. [Aside from the Supreme Court], it could [also] be addressed to funders who are now losing interest,” Valdez said.