Manny Pacquiao showed himself a gracious gentleman in the face of losing the World Boxing Organization’s welterweight title to American challenger Timothy Bradley.
In television interviews, he did not gripe against the decision of the match’s board of judges but instead thanked his supporters, comforted the disappointed and used his loss as an opportunity to demonstrate faith in action.
In contrast, some local officials in Cebu showed only naked ambition and lack of finesse in ensuring that their names would gain mileage as sponsors of live telecasts in the barangays of the Pacquiao-Bradley match.
The telecast sponsorships were not the only occasions when officials promoted themselves outside the official campaign period.
Last May, a poster with the name of Cebu City Councilor Rodrigo Abellanosa was emblazoned above the stage during a band show in barangay Tisa.
Another poster with the name of Councilor Jun Pe can be seen in some bakeshops.
Earlier this year, “Buy 1, take 1” leaflets bearing the names and faces of Rep. Tomas Osme?a (south district, Cebu City) and Vice Mayor Joy Young were circulated to give the electorate a heads up about the tandem’s plan to run next year for the position of mayor and vice mayor.
Such actions from our politicos violate the spirit of the laws against electioneering and the camp of incumbent Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama is not exactly law abiding.
The mayor has a television show that easily qualifies for propaganda and those posters all over the city of the late father of the city Vicente Rama only serve to enhance name recall for “Rama” without really saying anything substantial about the patriarch.
Premature campaigning not only steals time, money and effort that should go to public service in the days before the official campaign period.
It also gives politicians unfair advantage over their possible opponents.
Worse, it is a form of deception because it seeks to make voters judge future candidates for public office on the strength of their pomp and circumstace rather than actual performance.
At worst, it is an effort to distract constituents from glaring official ineptness or failure to deliver on their promises.
May we remind our officials of Section 80 of the Omnibus Election Code, upheld in a Sept. 11, 2009 ruling of the Supreme Court, violation of which may merit disqualification from elections:
“[I]t is unlawful for any person, whether or not a voter or candidate or for a party, to engage in election campaigning or acts that promote his candidacy or the defeat of another outside the campaign period.”
