ALBAY GOVERNOR WANTS PULL OUT OF LBC TV A DS

ALBAY GOVERNOR WANTS PULL OUT OF LBC TV ADS
By CET DEMATERA

LEGAZPI CITY---Albay Gov. Joey Salceda wants an immediate pull out of the advertisement on television of the LBC cargo carrier with the message saying that the spelling of the word `remittance' is `capital L-B-C.," even as he calls the media ad as "an ignominy of the first order."

Salceda is known not only as an economist but also as a staunch advocate of quality education, being the first governor to award P100,000 each to the declared ten outstanding teachers in Albay in December last year, under the province's program on education dubbed as Education Quality for Albay, or EQUAL. He has also hundreds of scholars since he is representative of Albay's third distrct and now a governor.

"It is not funny as it (TV ad) assaults the intelligence of Filipinos and exploits OFWs who already suffer so much social dislocation," Salceda said.

The Albay governor and known economic adviser of President Arroyo also said that "LBC should apologize for the ads, pull out the ads and terminate its ad agency."

Even before Salceda issued the statement, The Bicol SUN gathered mostly negative comments on the LBC ads which was aired several times during the Pacquiao-Hatton boxing match on Sunday and replayed on Wednesday in Solar Sports channel.

However, the regional director of the Department of Education (DepEd) for Bicol Celedonio Layon takes a soft stand on the LBC ad when sought by media here for comment.Layon said he will merely issue instructions to the public school teachers across Bicol region to correct any misconception or misunderstanding that the LBC TV ads on the spelling of the word remittance as capital L-B-C may bring.

"We admit it is wrong. But since it is only an advertisement, probably they (the copy editor or advertiser) merely exercise their artistic license," Layon told Bombo Radyo here in Filipino.

Layon said he will see to it that any possible confusion that the TV ad may create will just be "corrected in the classrooms" of the elementary and secondary schools. He did not elaborate whether he will issue an office memorandum or will just spread the instruction by words of mouth.

As this developed, a number of parents and teachers associations (PTAs) across Bicol have insinuated of bringing formal complaints against the ads before education and advertisement authorities of the government.

Early in 2000, Albay, through its provincial board members, had passed a resolution declaring a TV and radio advertisement of a telephone company depicting Bicol as an undesirable place to go due to bad roads and communist rebels' presence.