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MANILA.-
It's just a face.
The
lawyer of actor-turned-senatorial candidate, Cesar Montano,
tried to convince election commissioners on Tuesday to allow
the continued use of Montano's smiling face on the delivery
vans of a purified drinking water company because the advertisingmaterials
did not bank on "name recall," but on "face
recall."
The
commissioners asked lawyer Catherine Fong if the advertisements
would give Montano, who belonged to the administration-backed
TEAM Unity, undue advantage over other candidates.
Fong
stressed that only Montano's face was prominently displayed
on the vehicles -- not his name.
Moreover,
she pointed out that advertisements were not billboards but
moving vehicles on which Montano's face had been "painted"
on.
The
Commission on Elections' second division, comprised of Commissioners
Florentino Tuason Jr., Rene Sarmiento and Nicodemo Ferrer,
gave Montano and his lawyer three days to furnish a position
paper before the petition would be submitted for resolution.
In
a petition filed last February, Montano asked the Comelec
to allow the continued display of his pictures on Nature's
Spring delivery vans and company vehicles since the poll body
might consider this "as election propaganda."
The
advertisements were displayed as early as January this year.
Montano,
a popular actor and movie director, has been the company's
product endorser since July 2005.
"These
materials are designed to secure more sales for the company,
not to secure votes for petitioner," Montano's petition
said.
The
petition also argued that if these ad materials could be considered
campaign materials, "no law is being violated" because
the Fair Elections Act "does not proscribe the use of
campaign materials on the body of a vehicle."
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