Ecija bet woos voters via birthday greetings

SAN JOSE CITY, Nueva Ecija — Politicians, particularly first-timers, can draw a lesson or two from this re-electionist city councilor who endears himself to voters by sending them birthday greetings.

And the campaign gimmick of councilor Joseph Ortiz is paying off. Many recipients of Ortiz’s birthday greetings, written on bond paper-sized memo pads with his signature, have recognized him for sheer name recall, earning for him much campaign mileage.

Ortiz is running under the Lakas-NUCD ticket of mayoral bet Vice Mayor Alex Belena and his running mate Albert Cukingnan.

Ortiz and Cukingnan have made a name for themselves by religiously attending wakes and interments in the city.

Ortiz said he started sending birthday greetings in June last year, but not as a campaign method.

He said he sends an average of 100 birthday greetings a day; to date, they have numbered at least 36,000. This city has a voting population of 55,653.

To produce the birthday greetings, Ortiz said he spends P98 for a box of white mailing envelopes, P140 for a ream of short bond paper which is cut into half, and P180 to deliver the notes. Not too costly for someone who earns some P18,000 monthly as a councilor.

A computer printout of the personalized letter is sealed in the envelope and hand-carried to the birthday celebrator, rain or shine.

Ortiz gets support from a four-man staff composed of Resty Domingo, Jilan Labrado, Edgar del Rosario and his personal secretary, Catherine Cueto, who prepares the list of birthday celebrators everyday. The team did a lot of research to get the list of birthdays.

Ortiz said his sending of birthday greetings is not politicking, explaining that he has actually been fond of sending birthday notes to barangay officials even when he was not yet a politician.

"I’m doing it as part of my duty as a public servant. Anyway, the law does not prevent a politician from sending birthday greetings," he said.

He added: "Kung ’yung patay binibigyan ko ng importansiya, lalo pa ang buhay (If I give importance to the dead, how much more the living)?"