Programs, not officials in infomercials

So it is part of the mandate of the different government offices to inform the public about their programs. So they have budget allocations for such public information activities. But is it also part of the mandate of the department or government agency to include the face of whoever is at the helm of the department or agency in the information materials about the office's programs? I don't think so.

Malacañang and the different Cabinet members involved in the infomercial issue have been defending the different infomercials that came out on different media saying these have increased public knowledge about the programs of government. Sure, I think people do not have a problem with that. What we don't like are the faces of Cabinet members in those infomercials, faces that the infomercials can very well do without.

I realized, during my short stint as a regional information officer of the Department of the Interior and Local Government that there are a lot of government programs that are unknown to the people. Reading materials, brochures and pamphlets may be a cheaper way to spread information but these are not the most effective owing to the fact that there are people who cannot read or do not have the time to read. Audio-visual information materials are the best, aside from actual, face-to-face explanations of the different programs to its target beneficiaries. Testimonials, for me, are the best way to convince people that a government program works, that it has helped them improve their lives.

Instead of Cabinet secretaries or other government officials being the "stars" of government infomercials, testimonials from the common tao, from Juan dela Cruz, are a much better public information drive. Take the P28-million TESDA infomercial for example where director general Augusto Syjuco is seen singing and dancing with pop star Sarah Geronimo. Syjuco proudly said that because of the television ad, many people came to know about TESDA. Well, yes the public became aware of the existence of TESDA and, for sure, was entertained by his and Sarah G's song and dance prowess. But was the public informed about the different courses of TESDA? Was the public informed that many Filipinos have found work here and abroad because of a course they took at TESDA? No. The public was just treated to a song and dance number for P28 million. TESDA could have hired a better copywriter and maybe the P28 million used for the commercial would have been put to good use. Included in the P28 million TESDA budget for its ad is the P6 million talent fee of Sarah G, which I think was a total waste of precious government funds. Why? Is Sarah G a graduate of TESDA? She belongs to the glamorous world of showbiz and the courses offered at TESDA are no way near what Sarah is doing.

Although I am very much against government officials showing their faces in government-paid print or broadcast advertisements, I think that the best government infomercial, one that was really well-thought of and planned, is the one of the Department of Tourism showing a man who was sacked from work, who applied for a job during a tourism jobs fair and got a job as a banquet supervisor in one of the hotels here in Cebu. Well, Sec. Ace Durano is also part of the infomercial but, in fairness to him, he was not the star and was not advertising himself like what other cabinet officials did. The star was the man who got a job because of the Trabaho sa Turismo job fair, which should be the case in all government-paid advertisement. The people's money is used to pay for the advertisement, so the people should be the stars in the ad and not the head of the government agency.

The government insists that it needs to advertise to let people know about its programs. The intention, if informing the public is really what these advertisements are intended for, is good. But the government has to put the people's money into good use by putting out good advertisements, advertisements that will really put the message of government programs across. The country has so much talent when it comes to conceptualizing advertisements. Government budget for public information will go a long way if they tap these ad agencies to help and not just sing and dance the people's money away.

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