BAGUIO CITY — University students in the Cordillera Administrative Region have been tapped to document how much profits national and local news media earned from government infomercials, to help a nonpolitical movement unmask interest groups influencing Philippine politics today.
They are being deputized as “neutral monitors” of campaign financing, and their findings could “help restore public faith in the electoral system,” said Prof. Teofilo Macabiog, Cordillera convenor of the Association of Schools of Public Administration in the Philippines Inc.
Macabiog said the monitoring process would require students to take a deeper look at what media earn from infomercials.
Students will come from the University of the Philippines Baguio, St. Louis University, Benguet State University and two colleges from Mountain Province and Kalinga.
At the 6th Media Nation summit in Antipolo City, Senators Manuel Villar and Manuel “Mar” Roxas II were cited by the Nielsen Media Research (NMR) as the biggest infomercial spenders in the first part of 2009.
Jay Bautista, NMR executive director, said P2.4 billion spent on infomercials represented the combined output of the Roxas and Villar camps.
He also said the government had bankrolled P4.4 billion for infomercials of public officials aspiring to run in 2010.| < Prev | Next > |
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