Billboards: Are they part of Freedom of Speech?

"Freedom of Speech" is one big phrase we all would agree is good and important and we do not want anyone curtailing even a bit of this freedom. As a blogger, I am all out for its protection. But I do not agree that commercial and even political billboards are part of freedom of speech.

How can Kris Aquino's billboards, promoting a brand of apparel among others, be part of free speech? Does freedom of speech mean that advertisers can impose their message on people who have no choice but to look at them? At least on TV or radio, we can shut it off (physically or mentally) when we do not want to watch or listen to any of the advertisements. Also, at least we get free programs in return to watching (or listening to) the ads. We do not even need to turn the TV/radio off.. for we can do something else when the ads are running.

But billboards? No, you cannot avoid them. You see them everywhere... they impose themselves on you. They are especially there when you are looking for something else and when you need them least. When looking for directions for example, they are there, bigger and bolder, to prevent you from getting the signages you want to see.

If billboards are protected by freedom of speech, that drunk singer who karaokes to high heavens in the middle of the night in your neighborhood is protected by it too. If billboards advertising is freedom of speech, then the more spam on your e-mail means the more freedom you have!

Billboards are shouting at us everyday. It is a spin to say that they do not. They are big, and bold, and imposing, and loud. Only those who benefits from billboards and politicians such as most of our mayors, most notably Lito Atienza (previous post), who uses them extensively and some congressmen such as Ruffy Biazon (blog) (who although seems against billboards submits that it is part of freedom of speech and to ban it is "extreme"), cannot see the difference between "freedom of speech" and the commercialization of our cityscape.

Billboards and Freedom of Speech

Typhoon "Milenyo" seem to be so furious of billboards that it tore down many of them. Now, the billboard advertisers hesitate to construct them back to their former glory. Are they worrying about the negative publicity that billboards might generate? Or is it because they feel uncertain about the billboards' future which might be totally banned later? Whatever the reason, at least "Milenyo" brought something good.

I cannot help but observe though, that some spins are being promulgated by politicians about billboards - that it is not to be banned because it is not just for commercial advertising, rather it is part of the people's freedom of speech. I am not so sure, but can anyone remember a billboard used other than for commercial or political advertising?

And yes, "political" is one use for billboards and perhaps that is why politicians does not want it to be banned altogether. Perhaps to them, political advertising is part of freedom of speech. They rather sound ridiculous than having that form of advertising eliminated. Obviously, they are not looking after the welfare of the people but only their own.

Can anyone honestly believe that billboards are part of freedom of speech? Is advertising ones claims of accomplishments through political billboards form part of freedom of speech? Is it not even more disgusting to see political advertisements everytime there is a new project in an area while we all know that it is the people's taxes that made the project a reality?

I think that billboards should be banned. Not only are they unsafe during typhoons (which passes us through so many times in a year), they are also unsafe for driving. Billboards distract drivers from driving safely. They produce clutter to obscure traffic signs. And contrary to what some billboard supporters might try to peddle, they do not decorate the landscape. A revealing picture of Kris Aquino is never better than a scenery of plants and trees. And trees won't damage us as much when typhoons come.

The Cheaters Olympics (where there are Leaks and Ghosts)

As I have said before, all of our politicians cheat to win in elections. I believe that both President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and Fernando Poe Jr. cheated in the last elections, although many erroneously believe that FPJ did not (previous post: Cheating is the Rule of the Game). To be a politician, and if you ever intend to win in an election, you must definitely know how to cheat.

You would not have a problem though on learning how to cheat, for everywhere our laws are so disregarded by our leaders that all we need to do is to cheat to avoid being a fool. In our country, cheating, is even often a necessity. So as we grow, we are trained to cheat. Example: We are trained to cross the street even when there's a footbridge nearby (for why would you be such a fool to climb the footbridge when everyone is just crossing the street wherever they want?). We are also trained to climb a jeepney wherever we see them (for why would you be such a fool to wait for a jeepney on a jeepney stop when no jeepneys stop there?). Cheating is now part of our culture.

Even our school leaders teach our children how to cheat. Wouldn't you remember our little league baseball team that won a world championship only to be stripped of the title due to the misrepresented ages of the players? Didn't it not happen not only once, but twice or thrice? Would you say that the kids did it (misrepresented their ages) on their own or there are adults (school officials) that prod them?

Yes, in sports, cheats abound. I do not need to tell you about the Fil-Am basketball players we all idolize, many of which are not qualified even to join the league!

Some people avoid cheating, I know. I am one of them. I always look like a fool especially when I am alone. Even now, when I drive I tend to put my vehicle in line even when there is chaos around. I follow the rules. I avoid changing lanes and I give way to many. My senses are quick, but even my own mother - my first teacher, tells me I am a slow driver. I know there are other people that are like me. But we all do cheat once in a while, while some of us are not very good at it. Well, I guess the ones that are great cheaters from kids to adults become politicians. Yes, politics could be the "cheater's olympics". May the best cheats win.

And oh yes, I cannot help but remind you of our embarrassing recent nursing professional examinations. They got caught. They are not so good at it. Those that get away, they are the good ones (champion material). Someday, the best of them would be a congressman, or a mayor, or a governor, or a senator, or even President. Come to think of it, does this happen only now? Aren't leakages normal occurence in professional examinations? Everyone knows that there are leakages in government examinations since anyone could remember there are such examinations. And nursing is one of the more sublime fields. Dare we talk about the legal profession. Would you believe there are no leakages in the bar examinations?

And now the ghosts... can anyone tell me which town or city in the country employ no ghosts? Everyone knows there are ghosts employees everywhere in government. Perhaps, as former President Cory Aquino would have thought, it is only in Makati - where an obviously very corrupt government under Mayor Jejomar Binay reigns - where there are no ghosts. I am not sure what happened to Cory Aquino. Seldom do I see her, since her staunch ally/adviser Cardinal Sin died, that she make correct choices and affiliations. How could have she imagined herself saying the same things as JV Ejercito and Kit Tatad? Mrs. Aquino questioning the ghosts? Please... we are not born yesterday.

It is very clear to me what is happening in our country. There is an ongoing Cheater's Olympics (it has been going on for quite a while). To qualify, you must be good at it since childhood. You must cheat your age to get into and win in little league games. As a young adult, you must learn to cross the street wherever you want. You must get that parking space even when you are not next or get into that lane even when some are observing a cue. You must get that test leakage and perhaps even become a topnotcher. Then, you can start cheating on your tax returns, and cheat on your accomplishments. Only when you are good at all of these do you qualify to be a top ranking politician where you get to play for a team - the Administration team or the Opposition team.

The payoff is good just to get into any of the teams. The goal of the game is to get into the Administration team, where the payoff is even better, by joining it or opposing it. You cheat all the time. You say things that are not true. Don't worry, you got the mass media with you. And yes, you cheat not with your own life but you cheat with the life of many poor Filipino souls wondering when their next meal would be.

On Makati

There is a political battle happening in Makati. The DILG (inq7 report) has suspended the local government officials of the city, including the Mayor, Jejomar Binay. It was said that the mayor defies the suspension order and is physically not giving up his seat.

Amazing how this can happen? Who has now the authority in the Makati? How can Binay hold on to his seat? On the other hand, how can DILG suspend an elected official?

Meanwhile, former President Cory Aquino is said to be supporting the embattled mayor. She purportedly went to Makati City hall to support him. This is even more amazing.: a former president supporting a mayor who would not follow a suspension order!

Binay is saying that the suspension is illegal. If it is illegal, why not give up the seat and question the order in court? What is in the seat that one cannot relinquish it? I guess this indeed is the country that we live in. A place where there could not be any rule of law among goverment officials.

Embarrassing.

Billboards Return

Traveling on EDSA yesterday, I can easily see that huge billboards are slowly reclaiming their spots they temporarily yielded to Milenyo. I am sure the structure owners are just trying to implement and continue the contracts they have with the advertisers - that they are bound to have them restored. I wouldn't blame them.

However, we can just sadly conclude that the mayors, whose cities are dangerously littered by these billboards, have hearts as dark and hard as stones, to ever permit those billboards to rise in the first place. We know nobody thinks about anyone's welfare.

As usual, the mass media do not notice. All of us ordinary people should try to put a stop to this, whatever way we can. These Mayors and Media entities should be condemned by everyone.

Alamid Coffee: The Best News I Ever Read...

Now this is the kind of news that I would like to see more of. The Inquirer today has an article about the Alamid Coffee - that very exotic coffee found in the Philippines (I learned that it is also found in Indonesia and Vietnam, source: wikipedia, as usual). Even BBC had it covered, BTW.

Funny. It took some alamid dung to get me appreciative of the news. Good luck to the alamids... may there be more of them (and their droppings), before someone had a bad idea of unintentionally killing them for short term profit.

Billboards Spin

There is one spin I heard directly in an AM Radio interview with Mayor Lito Atienza of Manila regarding the Metro billboards. He says that government cannot totally ban the construction and display of billboards because, don't fall on your seat -- it is part of the "freedom of expression"! Oh my, having the mayor of the nation's capital trying to make this spin is so saddening. And the worst part is, the interviewer took the comment without a glint of surprise nor disgust!

So I see, perhaps he would say that vandals are OK in Manila... is this another form of expression (and should be protected)?

Of course, I now remember that the mayor himself has huge billboards announcing his so called accomplishments (which are mostly installation of exaggerated lights and conversion of roads into parks - yes... those unnecessary things in a city where people are dying of hunger - perhaps he thought it is better for them to die with the lights on, so that we won't be able to step on them?). Him with the widest smile only a politico can muster with the "Pagandahin ang MayniLA" theme, noting the capitalized LA to signify his very nice name: Lito Atienza.

It is just like asking Kris Aquino what she thought of billboards.

A few months from now, I am sure huge billboards will still be all around. And that is because no one cares about anything about the country, not most of our mayors, not even our mass media. People just have to do something about this.