In all his campaign sorties, campaigners of LAMMP presidential candidate Joseph Estrada have been distributing videotapes of "Jeep ni Erap," an hour-long documentary that chronicles his rise up the political ladder. Prior to the campaign period, Jeep ni Erap vans equipped with video machines and screens have been dogging the LAMMP caravan publicly showing the documentary. Although this was stopped when the election period began, the vans still trail the LAMMP convoy, distributing tapes to anyone who cares for a copy.

• Comelec Minute Resolution 98-0906 allows the display of giant campaign posters of 24" x 12," the size of movie billboards, but only in candidates' homes or campaign headquarters. The resolution is lenient toward candidates, allowing them one headquarters in every barangay in Metro Manila and other urbanized cities.

Despite such leniency, violations abound. At the corner of Mindanao and Congressional Avenues in Quezon City hangs a giant billboard of presidential candidate Manuel Morato alongside movie billboards. The sign says it is the headquarters of Morato's teammate Camilo Sabio.

But residents of the area could not say where Sabio's headquarters is or whether it exists at all. The billboard stands in front of a vacant lot where construction equipment is parked. Similar Morato billboards have been spotted at other busy streets like Coastal Road, East Avenue in Quezon City and on Edsa right across SM City Shopping Mall. The other billboards don't even say there are headquarters nearby.

• The Omnibus Election Code bans newspapers from printing advertisements that promote any candidate. On April 26, a leading daily ran two separate paid advertisements announcing the Fatima School of Medicine's Jose de Venecia Scholarship and the AMA Computer College's Joseph Estrada Scholarship. The advertisements bore the pictures of both candidates. As late as May 4, the same daily published a paid advertisement announcing the AMA Computer College's Estrada Scholarship.
• Section 18-c of Comelec resolution 2974 bans the distribution of election paraphernalia like T-shirts. Only at most 20 people who are part of each candidate's entourage are allowed to wear such T-shirts. But businessmen in Binondo have been doing brisk business from selling and printing T-shirts. In fact, by the last week of April, T-shirt dealers had run out of stock. One Binondo trader says a Lakas staff member recently approached him, intending to buy P100,000 worth of T-shirts but the trader had already run out of shirts by then.
• The Election Code limits the plastering of campaign propaganda to common poster areas designated by election officers. But campaign posters and stickers are seen on every available space throughout the country, in violation of the Code. Asked on television news what he intended to do about the illegal practice, Chairman Bernardo Pardo stared blankly at the reporter and said, "I don't see the posters because the windows of my car are tinted."

By far the most blatant violation the Comelec has ignored, if not condoned, was the April 26 rally of the religious group Jesus is Lord Movement. In that rally, JIL leader Eddie Villanueva proclaimed de Venecia the movement's candidate. The rally was broadcast live over the government television station, PTV-4.

The Omnibus Election Code prohibits radio and TV stations from selling or giving free of charge airtime for campaign and other political purposes except otherwise authorized by the Comelec.

Pardo's Comelec has declared the rally legal, despite the patent breach of election laws. Comelec reporters point to a midnight resolution signed just days before the rally in which the Commission is said to have allowed PTV-4 to air the program.

In contrast, during his time, former Chairman Christian Monsod declared a similar rally illegal. In 1992, the administration party Lakas held a campaign rally in Isabela with then President Cory Aquino endorsing the candidacy of her anointed, Fidel Ramos. The rally was also aired live on PTV-4. To penalize the station, Comelec ordered the government television network to give equal airtime to other political parties.

Undoubtedly, having the vast government machinery behind him has given de Venecia the edge in propaganda war. The Post Office, LTO and Tritran bus terminal are only among several commercial and government offices which have been playing the tapes non-stop, almost day long.

Sources in the Lakas camp say the de Venecia campaign produced and arranged for the screening of other audio-visual materials, including 30-seconder plugs which extol de Venecia's virtues and endorse his candidacy. These tapes have been played in bus and shipping terminals, airports and restaurants during the campaign period.

Eight television sets spread out in the cavernous lobby of the Central Post Office had repeatedly been showing Gina de Venecia's "Pira-pirasong Pangarap," during the campaign period. We visited the Post Office several days in the last week of April and saw the program continuously played.

At the waiting area of the Land Transportation Office, at least four TV sets are positioned strategically, supposedly to entertain people applying for drivers' licenses. Mrs. de Venecia's program was also aired, along with videotapes that instruct the public on the process of applying for their licenses.

LTO personnel point to an advertising firm called ADTV as the agency behind the videotapes. They say ADTV has been operating 11 television sets at the LTO as early as September 1996. An ADTV staffmember is detailed at the LTO with specific duties to oversee the playing of the tapes.

The instruction, according to an LTO insider, was to play two episodes of "Pira-pirasong Pangarap"per hour eight hours a day from March 10 to April 23. But on April 27, the LTO was still showing the videotapes.

ADTV has also gotten transport firms to show the videotapes. Aside from the Tritran bus company, the tapes were also shown at the WG&A Terminal at the North Harbor. As in the LTO case, ADTV also operated the seven television sets at the waiting area as early as 1996 and assigned operator to oversee the playing.

ADTV operator Allan Apilado confirmed that previous to the showing of "Pira-pirasong Pangarap," he was under orders to play a 30-second plug showing de Venecia at a forum of the Kapihan sa Manila Hotel, being serenaded by singer Donna Cruz. The commercial was inserted between segments of a documentary about tourist spots in the Philippines. Aside from this, the plug was also shown aboard seven WG&A ferryboats.

Headed by former movie bit-player Dave Brodett, ADTV denies any arrangement with the de Venecia campaign in the airing of the videotapes. Bambi Mercado of ADTV describes the firm as a "beyond-the-line" medium that specializes in non-traditional advertising venues.

To date, ADTV has loaned out 500 television sets to several public and private offices, among them the LTO, PhilPost, Philippine General Hospital, National Bureau of Investigation, Hard Rock Cafe, and the Triple V Restaurants. The transport companies include Tritran, BLTB Co., Philtranco, Times Transit, Dagupan and Baliwag Bus Companies.

In exchange, Mercado says, the offices they deal with pledge to show videotapes along with commercials provided by ADTV. These include shows produced by Warner Music Co, Vintage and other independent production outfits. "Pira-pirasong Pangarap," Mercado says, was chosen for showing by ADTV because of its mass appeal.

"Bawal yun," says Atty. Josllyn Demesa of the Comelec's Law Department when told of the videotape. "When you think of it, what is prohibited directly, cannot be done indirectly yet they (candidates) find ways to skirt the law."

PGH officials apparently realized that playing the videotapes was tantamount to a violation of the ad ban and refused to have them shown, said an ADTV operator. The NBI also hesitated at first but eventually relented. "Pira-pirasong Pangarap" was shown for two weeks in April at the NBI.

The Comelec designated its Education and Information Department (EID) to watch out for such violations of the ad ban and the rules on campaign propaganda. But Demesa admits the Commission is saddled with too much work, especially in the homestretch to election day, to monitor these violations. "Because of lack of manpower hindi na namo-monitor, somebody needs to bring these matters to the attention of the commission."

The EID is relying on election officers in each congressional district to be on the lookout. So far, no reports have reached the Comelec's central office in Manila. Election officers were also required to identify common poster areas for the pasting of campaign propaganda. Not all have sent their reports to the Comelec main office.

"You can't expect election officers to spend time tearing down campaign posters," says Maambong. "They're much too busy with the real business of the Comelec which is to conduct the elections."

Still, violations have not gone unnoticed by concerned citizens. For instance, campaigners of vice presidential candidate Oscar Orbos were seen distributing stampitas at the Maria della Strada Church in Katipunan on Holy Thursday. The cards bore religious inscriptions in front, and at the back, the phrase "compliments of Oscar Orbos." Section 4 of Comelec Resolution 2974 prohibited "any election campaign or partisan political activity" from Holy Thursday to Good Friday.

Supporters of LAMMP senatorial bet Edcel Lagman have also been giving out audio tapes of the latest hit songs. Between popular hits like "Macarena," listeners hear a Lagman jingle sung to the tune of the theme from the movie "Superman," as well as a testimony of support from Lagman's fellow Bicolano, superstar Nora Aunor. Lagman's face also appears on the cassette cover.

An even more obvious violation of the ad ban are the plugs being aired by IBC-Channel heralding the forthcoming airing of senatorial candidate Robert Jaworski's birthday celebration. The show was to have been aired on March 7, Jaworski's birthday but was stopped by the IBC-13 management.

The Comelec has made other attempts to punish violators after the 1995 disqualification case against senatorial candidates. In the 1996 barangay elections, the Comelec suspended proclamation of some candidates who had violated the rules on campaign propaganda. "Sinampulan lang," says a former Comelec official. But the candidates never seem to have taken the sanctions seriously.

In these elections, only one complaint has been formally filed with the Comelec law department, the investigation and prosecution arm of the election body. The complaint scored the Manila Bulletin for running a full-page advertisement on February 25, 1998 soliciting votes for the Maritime Party, which is taking part in the party list elections.

Maambong can almost foresee how such complaints will end up. One excuse, he says, is that no one ever saw the candidates themselves placing the ad or plastering the posters.

Another is the usual defense: the illegally posted material was the handiwork of their opponents.

In de Venecia's case, a staff member of Gina de Venecia's office has given the usual defense: they had nothing to do with the airing of "Pira-pirasong Pangarap" outside the regular GMA-7 schedule.

A former Comelec official says the situation is crying out for legislation. The Comelec lawyer agrees. "The law should be amended so that the mere presence of illegal campaign propaganda should constitute prima facie evidence against the candidate." When that happens, then the election law would have had more teeth.

Maambong also agrees and suggests fine-tuning some provisions in the election code relating to campaign propaganda. "You have a common poster area that's so damn small it's useless!" he says. Otherwise, the only other option would be to repeal the law, and have a free-for-all, which, in any case, is what is already happening.