Covering or seeking cover?: The curious cases of blocktimers in Negros Occidental

All is fair in love and war?

With the open hostilities during the campaign period, have blocktimers become political targets, too?

In the case of Carmona, Ralph Belzunce, chairman of the Kapisanan ng mga Brodkaster ng Pilipinas (KBP)-Negros Occidental chapter, said they cannot extend any assistance to him since he is not even accredited with the KBP. “It we would not be strict about this then anyone can simply claim that he or she is a broadcaster even if they have not undergone the licensing requirements of the KBP.”

A broadcaster must first pass a written exam given by the KBP and will also be rated by his or her station manager in order to pass the KBP accreditation.

The Negros Press Club, on the other hand, has passed a resolution to have the case against Carmona investigated. The NPC is headed by Ranie Azue, a blocktimer for Grupo Progreso at dyRL-Abyan Radyo while the vice president is Aquilino Ciocon who is also a blocktimer for Vice Governor Alvarez.

“The best thing to do is for those candidates to have desisted from handling their programs after they have filed their COCs,” Belzunce told CMFR when asked about the case of Carmona. He said the KBP did talk about his case and of other blocktimers who continued to handle programs even when they are already considered as candidates.

But while they cannot extend any assistance to Carmona, they can impose a fine on a broadcaster and a radio station if these are in violation of KBP guidelines for candidates. He cited the case of a blocktimer and a radio station who were made to pay P10,000 each after the blocktime continued to broadcast even while he was already a candidate for the city council.

Commission on Elections provincial supervisor lawyer Wil Arceño, however, said under the Comelec guidelines, a candidate can be considered a candidate only when the official campaign period for local candidates begins. “Prior to that they can do anything they want except say ‘vote for me’ or distribute campaign paraphernalia.”

Aside from that, Arceño said they cannot monitor all the radio and television stations either, hobbled as they are by the lack of personnel and swamped by demands during the election period.

Other radio stations, however, have clear guidelines for their broadcasters who file their COCs. In the case of Aksyon Radyo-Bacolod of the Manila Broadcasting Company, an anchorperson is considered resigned once he or she files a COC for positions higher than punong barangay. For lower positions, employees are required to take a leave of absence during the campaign period.

This is the same case with dyWB Bombo Radyo-Bacolod that already has several anchormen becoming city councilors over the last decade.

But sans a clear-cut policy from management, Comelec Resolution No. 9615 or the “Rules and Regulations implementing Republic Act No. 9006, otherwise known as the ‘Fair Election Act”, in connection to the 13 May 2013 National and Local Elections, and Subsequent Elections” that was promulgated last January 15, 2013 has clear policies about broadcasters-turned-candidates:

SECTION 32. Mass Media Columnist, Announcer or Personality Running for Public Office or is a Campaign Volunteer. – Any mass media columnist, commentator, announcer, reporter, on-air correspondent, or personality who is a candidate for any elective public office, a party-list nominee, or is a campaign volunteer for or employed or retained in any capacity by any candidate or party shall be deemed resigned, if so required by their employer, or shall take a leave of absence from his/her work as such during the campaign period; Provided, that after he has filed his certificate of candidacy but before the campaign period, it shall be his obligation not to use his media work for premature election campaign or partisan political activity: Provided, finally, that any media practitioner who, while not himself a candidate, is an official of a political party or a member of the campaign staff of a candidate or party shall not use his/her time or space to favor any candidate or party;

“I have not used the microphone for partisan political activity because I think it was an issue of public interest and the people deserves to know about it,” Carmona said in justifying his taking up of the issue against Ang.

Determining what is of public interest and what is for the political interest of a blocktimer-candidate is very tricky, however, because everything is of public interest during the elections, Belzunce told CMFR that it is up to the management of radio stations to make sure that their blocktimers are not taking advantage of the airtime. But can they?

With all radio stations playing the disclaimer before and after the blocktime programs, it is clear that there is no gatekeeping process taking place in the newsrooms of the radio station, a fact that a former station manager Bong Tano admitted to CMFR in a previous article about blocktimers.

In the case of Radyo Natin-Hinobaan, Belzunce said business permits are necessary for a radio station to operate even if these have been issued franchises by Congress. “It is a requirement that radio stations must all comply with” although it can be used to harass broadcasters who are perceived to be unfriendly by those in power.

“That’s the flipside, that’s the loophole, (those in power) can use it against us to harass us and make life difficult or actually take us off the air,” he added. But RadyoNatin is also not a member of the KBP. The member is MBC but it does not follow that RN is also a member so “we cannot anything about the case of RN-Hinobaan,” Belzunce said.

Amid the complaints against blocktimers, Belzunce said even the local KBP is finding it difficult to monitor all of their programs. “We can only hope that those who are complaining will actually file a complaint with our office so we can act about it,” he said.

At the end of the day, however, can the audience decide on their own about blocktimers? Does the audience still listen to them?

“I think the people have grown tired of them, especially those who are being paid by politicians to handle their programs,” Belzunce said, as he pointed out that some listeners have already matured enough not to believe the one-sided handling by blocktimers of information on the elections.

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Julius Mariveles is a freelance journalist based in Bacolod City. He has been working in radio for 13 years. He recently served as production chief and news director of Aksyon Radyo Bacolod. His first story on blocktimers for CMFR can be read here: http://www.cmfr-phil.org/2012/10/01/mixed-blessing-or-mixed-curseblocktiming-in-bacolod-city/