Senator Manny Villar is making a big deal out of his much-vaunted humble beginnings. Through his latest campaign jingle, this country’s wealthiest lawmaker hopes to cement his hold on the pro-poor branding. Check out the lyrics of that jingle.
Naging Mahirap
Nakaligo ka na ba sa dagat ng basura?
Nag-Pasko ka na ba sa gitna ng kalsada?
Yan ang tanong namin,
Tunay ka bang isa sa amin?Nalaman mo na bang mapapag-aral ka nya?
Tutulungan tayo para magka-trabaho?
At kanyang plano’y magka-bahay tayo?Si Villar ang tunay na mahirap.
si Villar ang tunay na may malasakit.
Si Villar ang may kakayahan
At gumawa ng sariling pangalan.Si Manny Villar ang magtatapos
ng ating kahirapan.
Obviously, the message being imparted here is that Villar knows how to solve poverty because he himself was once poor. But, there’s an even bigger message here that many people probably missed. Villar and his handlers obviously think voters are so stupid they’d actually believe this crap.
Think about it. Does his being a poorboy once upon a time really make Villar the most knowledgeable and most qualified to take on the task of addressing poverty? I don’t think so. Would it even matter that he was once poor? Maybe. Is Villar really pro-poor? Your guess is as good as mine.
I appreciate Villar’s Sipag at Tiyaga slogan. It’s a good message to impart since it basically reminds us that we need to take action and persist if we want to rise above our circumstances. This is precisely why I find it odd that Villar also perpetuates victim mentality. Watch this TV ad titled Sama sa Masa. Pay attention to the line of the elderly woman identified as Araceli Pena.
Kasi pinalad sila maging anak mayaman.
Sounds to me like an excuse. Now, imagine that kind of message taking root among those who saw that ad. I’m sure not a few people said to themselves, “Oo nga. Mayaman kasi sila.” Is that the kind of thinking that would help poor people get themselves out of poverty?
Villar and anyone else who plans to run on a pro-poor agenda should be careful with the messages they impart especially the subliminal ones. They should make sure to promote a winner’s mindset because that is what the poor should strive to have. It would also be good if they refrained from depicting themselves as saviors of the poor long before it becomes fact.
The good senator should also stop reinforcing the misconception that the poor will only get out of poverty by voting formerly-poor-but-now-fantastically-wealthy people into office. That is so trapo. Of course, he should also make sure to mean it when he claims he is pro-poor. Otherwise, he’ll just prove to everyone that he really is trapo.
What is rather off-putting about Villar is that he pitches himself to be the sole key to cleaning up this mess of a country.
[Reply]
I definitely love the jingle. It’s so catchy. Even my 3-year old cousin knows how to sing this song.
“Si Villar ang may kakayahan
At gumawa ng sariling pangalan.”
may patama sa iba~
[Reply]
bp Reply:
January 14th, 2010 at 1:21 am
draco,
yeah it’s good musically. but lyrics-wise not so good. i’d discourage letting kids learn the song. their “unprogrammed” minds might absorb the wrong message. seriously.
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Before you say anything, just look to the front of the mirror. every one of us have mistakes in life. let the people decide.
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popoy,
what do you mean exactly? how does the first two sentences of your comment relate to this post?
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the melody is catchy, the lyrics is not good. sana, he could have retained his by-line na Sipag at Tiyaga.
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Almost all of the candidates are making us feel the “victims” and they are the saviours. In fact, there is even one candidate making us feel that the entire family is the guardian of democracy and saviour of this God-forsaken country…there is one who candidate who made one city rise above its crisis and thinks he can replicate it around the country…has he visited far-flung areas in Mindanao?
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bp Reply:
February 19th, 2010 at 10:27 am
netch,
hmmm. i think that canidate who “made once city rise above its crisis” if indeed he did that is worth considering at least compared to the yellow one. but yeah ganyan naman sila lahat eh. they package themselves as saviours. all of them. in fact if you think about it. if all these candidates would actually do what they claim they can do regardless if they’re in office or not, this country of ours would probably be out of the rut it is in in no time at all. imagine, dami nating saviours.
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