EDITORIAL - Buy one take one, or BOTO (vote) for short?

There are as many interpretations of the full page BOPK ads that have suddenly appeared in the local newspapers as there are people who have seen them. But if there is one thing that all of these people can agree on, it is that BOPK clearly has a fat war chest. 

A full page advertisement in black and white in the local newspapers costs something like P20,000. You put out such an ad in all three English language newspapers in Cebu and you cough up an average of P60,000 per day. Now you do the math when you put it out for several days. 

And the ads are just a teaser, according to Cebu City Vice Mayor Joy Young, one of the subjects of the ads. The other is, of course, the BOPK founder himself, former mayor and now Rep. Tomas Osmeña, who has clearly indicated his desire to retake City Hall from Mayor Michael Rama. 

The ads say “Buy One Take One” and readers understand that to refer to the Osmeña-Young tandem which the BOPK is expected to field in the 2013 local elections. The ads also underscore the qualifications of Osmeña and Young, having once been Ten Outstanding Young Men awardees. 

But there is more than meets the eye in the ads. In the lower right hand corner of the ad is a caricature of Ninoy Aquino, the slain father of the sitting president and considered one of the pillars of the Liberal Party, the party of Rama and to which Osmeña is also affiliated.

Clearly this is a dig at Rama who, prior to a recent incident, was claiming to anyone willing to listen that he was the anointed one in Cebu City by the Liberal Party. But then came the big embarrassment. In a recent Liberal Party meeting in Cebu. Rama was not invited.

But let’s go back to that “Buy One Take One” catch-phrase because it also says something. If you reduce the phrase to an acronym, it would spell “BOTO.” And as every Cebuano knows, “boto” means vote. Now that is really something. It already has a semblance of early electioneering.

Technically, though, nobody is yet a candidate. The filing of certificates of candidacy is still months away. And the Comelec itself, sounded out on the ads, said it cannot put a finger on how to view them. That means Osmeña and Young can get away with their “BOTO” message.

Of course Rama can challenge the ads with legal action. But that is too risky an option to take. There is a chance he loses. If he does, it may affect the result of the election itself. In all likelihood, Rama may just have to grin and bear it as the BOPK merrily advertises away.