Philippine TV Gone Astray

The problem with most news organizations in the Philippines (and probably everywhere) is that they are owned by corporations and as such, they are constrained by commercial considerations in their operations and time slots.

This year being an election year, news organizations will play a big role in the way people will vote. Afterall, the news is the people’s primary source of information with regards to candidates and platforms. It is therefore important that news organizations present what the voters need. It is their duty, if you ask me.

Unfortunately, most of them are governed by the avarice of profits, hence they are constrained by ratings and ads.

Take for example ABS-CBN’s Forum 2007. It aims to expose senatorial candidates and their ideas to the voting public. However, it is shown on ANC, which is on cable TV, thus the number of people who can watch is limited. It is shown on Channel 2, but at 4AM, who’s going to watch it?

GMA7, on the other hand, has The Philippine Agenda. Instead of dealing with candidates, the show instead focuses on issues that affects the country. It is shown on Channel 7 on Sundays, 7PM. By limiting the show on issues, the producers hope ” to raise viewers’ level of concern and awareness on the country’s recurring problems so that, in turn, they can make sound choices come election day”.

What the people need to know is where do candidates stand on these issues. I’m afraid the GMA show will not address the question at all.

ABS-CBN is unwilling to sacrifice its primetime slots because it is trying to catch up with GMA7, while GMA7 has decided to present something half-useful. The TV news organizations somehow fail to fulfill their functions as conduits of needed information.

I hope radio, online, and print media fare better. But among these, TV is the most potent, and yet most impotent.

Philippine Election 2007

Legislative and local elections are to be held in the Philippines on May 14, 2007. Positions being contested include half the seats in the Senate. The 2007 Elections are known as the Philippine midterm election as the election date falls half-way through President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo's current six-year term.

All the seats in the Philippine House of Representatives are up for grabs. Representatives are elected for three year terms. The duly elected legislators of the 2007 elections will join the elected senators of the 2004 elections and will comprise the 14th Congress of the Philippines.

Most representatives win seats by being elected directly, the constituency being a geographical district comprising of about 250,000 voters. There are 212 seats in total for all the legislative districts. There are also seats for organized representation of special minorities. Such representatives gain one seat for every 2% of the total number of votes in the national electorate, but are limited to three seats. Local elections for governor, vice governor, mayoral posts (provinces only) and mayoral posts in Metro Manila are up for grabs as well.

TEAM Unity

TEAM (Together Everyone Achieves More) Unity is a coalition composed mostly of supporters and erstwhile critics of current Philippine president, Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. Team Unity seeks to take several Senate seats in oder to ensure the passage of President Arroyo's legislative programs and also to protect her from any impeachment attempts by the political opposition after the midterm elections.

Genuine Opposition

The United Opposition Coalition was created by Makati City Mayor Jejomar Binay on June 2005 to unite all politicians who wish to impeach Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. The UNO started scouting candidates for the Senate as early as October 2006 to claim a large share in the Senate seats. On January 2007, UNO started short listing its nominees after a large number interested personalities wanted to join the opposition. The UNO has changed its name on February 12, 2007 at the Club Filipino in San Juan, Metro Manila to "Grand and Broad Coalition" (GBC). On February 15, 2007 the group changed its named again to "Genuine Opposition" after a meeting with Senate President Manny Villar in his office in Las Piñas. Though the Senate President Manny Villar and Senate Majority Leader Francis Pangilinan are running under the Opposition, they remain Independent Candidates like in the Philippine general election, 2001. Then on February 28, 2007, the Genuine Opposition dropped Francis Pangilinan as its Adopted Candidate.