Presidential aspirant Ka Leody de Guzman of Partido Lakas ng Masa on Friday welcomed the recent decision by Google to ban political ads from the Philippines on its platforms.
According to Ka Leody, political ads now have outnumbered the advertisements of soaps and shampoos.
The ban by Google will run from February 8 up to Election Day on May 9.
The labor leader also called on Comelec to ban all commercial political ads.
De Guzman said: “We openly welcome the decision by Google. We call on Comelec to ban commercial political ads. Government must assume responsibility for voter education and the raising of their political maturity.”
“Moneyed candidates, representing the billionaires, are exploiting the absence of a law against premature campaigning. They are flooding TV, social media, and the air waves of their commercials, which are even more than advertisements for soaps and shampoos,” de Guzman added.
He said “We need a level playing field. Qualified leaders from the ranks of the people should be given fair chance in the elections.”
“Remove the financial advantage of the elitist candidates. The interest of the people should enjoy primacy over the personal ambition of crooked politicians and political dynasties,” he said.
According to him, electoral reforms must be instituted such as the strengthening of the party system, prohibition against turncoatism, and the responsibility of the state to increase voter awareness on candidates and their platforms.
Ka Leody is running under the banner of “Manggagawa Naman”, that aims to highlight worker-candidates and their platforms to address the everyday problems of the masses.