‘Pride’ detergent ad: Don’t choose candidate who steals, kills, or is unprepared

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‘Pride’ detergent ad: Don’t choose candidate who steals, kills, or is unprepared
(UPDATED) A corporation, largely owned by a family from Capiz, is behind political ads that appear to attack Mar Roxas' rivals

MANILA, Philippines (UPDATED) – From laundry detergent to a “reminder” in the context of a tight presidential election.

Detergent brand Pride on Wednesday, March 25, released a political ad online, a “reminder” to its followers as election day drew nearer, and which appears to attack the rivals of Liberal Party (LP) standard-bearer Manuel Roxas II.

Mga misis! Time out muna tayo sa usapin ng labada. Tutal napapanahon ang nalalapit na Presidential elections, gusto lang naming maghatid sa lahat ng paalala,” the brand said in a post accompanying the 33-second video.

(To all the wives out there! Let’s take a break from talk of laundry. Since the presidential elections are drawing nearer, we just want to give you a reminder.)

The online version of the ad has since been taken down as of Thursday evening, March 24. 

In the ad, 4 children are seen speaking directly to the camera. Their spiel goes:

Sabi ni nanay, huwag magnakaw. (Mother said, do not steal.)

Sabi ni lola, huwag mangupit. (Grandmother said, do not filch.)

Sabi ni tatay, huwag papatay. (Father said, do not kill.)

Sabi ni lolo, kung hindi pa handa, ‘wag pilitin. (Grandfather said, if you’re not ready, don’t force it.)

Pero sabi nila may kandidatong magnanakaw. (But they say there’s a candidate who’s a thief.)

May kandidato daw na kupitero. (They say there’s a candidate who takes what isn’t his.)

May kandidato daw na papatay ng tao. (They say there’s a candidate who will kill people.)

Bakit may kandidato na hindi pa handa? (Why is there a candidate who’s unprepared for the job?)

Tanong lang po. (We’re just asking.)

Sila po ba ang dapat asahan para sa aming kinabukasan? (Are they the right ones to trust when it comes to our future?)

 
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Mga misis! Time-out muna tayo sa usapin ng labada. Tutal napapanahon ang nalalapit na Presidential elections, gusto lang naming maghatid sa lahat ng paalala.

Posted by Pride on Tuesday, March 22, 2016

The ad was also aired during the last Commission on Elections (Comelec) presidential debate on March 20 and heard over a provincial radio station last week.

While it doesn’t name any of the 5 candidates in the 2016 presidential elections, the allusion to 3 candidates are undeniable.

Vice President Jejomar Binay of the opposition United Nationalist Alliance (UNA) has long been plagued by allegations of corruption during his time as Makati mayor.

Recent survey front runner Davao Mayor Rodrigo Duterte, meanwhile, has been unabashed about his approach to criminality and has been linked to the so-called Davao Death Squad.

Senator Grace Poe, another survey front runner, has been criticized for supposedly being inexperienced for the country’s top post. Poe was elected senator in 2013. Before that, she was chairman of the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board.

The ad notably makes no mention of any criticisms directed toward administration bet Roxas. This is despite largely publicized criticisms against him during his stint as transportation secretary and later interior chief of President Benigno Aquino III’s administration.

While negative political ads are not rare in the Philippines – they were aplenty during the 2010 presidential elections – it’s unusual to find a corporate entity release such an ad.

The video is labelled as “ACS Advocacy – Tanong TVC” in Pride’s official Facebook page. The video is one of only 6 the brand has posted on its page, the rest being advertisements for the detergent.

Months before the release of this online advertisement, ACS had run radio ads, where adults say “Ang dapat maging pangulo” (The one who should be president), followed by either an allusion to allegations against Binay or Poe, or the supposed strengths that Roxas cite in his campaign.)

ACS or Affordable Care Satisfaction is the company that manufactures Pride, and is managed and controlled mostly by the Supetran family, according to the company’s latest disclosure Securities and Exchange Commission.

Neither the Supetrans nor ACS donated to Aquino, Roxas, or the ruling LP in any recent election, based on data from Comelec.

But the Supetrans happen to trace their roots to the province of Capiz, which is also Roxas’ home province where he was congressman for 9 years.

Election laws prohibit companies from donating to campaigns. 

 

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