LAPU RAISES DIAPER AD CASE
THE Lapu-Lapu City Legal Office yesterday sent a letter to the Advertising Board of the Philippines (AdBoard) complaining about a TV advertisement that “mocks” the Battle of Mactan.
City Attorney Yuri Beluan, in a letter addressed to AdBoard chair Frederick Alegre, said the EQ Diapers commercial distorts historical facts and misleads the viewers, especially children.
“The said TV commercial is clearly not an accurate and respectful presentation of Datu Lapu-Lapu and his heroism,” he wrote.
Beluan cited a provision of the Code of Ethics of Advertising which states that historical events and national heroes “can be used in advertisements only if presented accurately and respectfully used to promote positive values.”
He asked the board to stop the airing of the 30-second commercial, in which foreign invader Ferdinand Magellan inadver- tently enrages Datu LapuLapu by offering him a box of substandard diapers.
Grave insult
Mayor Paz Radaza has denounced the commercial, calling it a “grave insult” to the Oponganons.
She said she will seek help from the National Historical Commission of the Philippines.
Radaza expressed dismay over the commercial two weeks before the City stages a reenactment of the Battle of Mactan.
Since 2000, the City has been celebrating the anniversary of the historic battle through a reenactment where celebrities play the role of LapuLapu, Magellan and Reyna Bulakna.
Lapu-Lapu killed Magellan during the battle, which happened on April 27, 1521 on the shores of Mactan.
Support
Earlier, Cordova Mayor Adelino Sitoy expressed support for Mayor Radaza’s stand on the EQ Dia- pers commercial, saying the advertisement mocks the first Filipino to win a battle against invaders.
An online petition asking the diaper manufacturer to remove the advertise- ment has been launched by Balbino “Ka Bino” Guerrero, a local tour guide and a tourism consultant of Lapu-Lapu City.
The petition gathered 220 signatures as of yesterday.
The commercial portrays Magellan giving a box of diapers to LapuLapu and Reyna Bulakna as a friendly gesture.
The couple finds out that the diapers are of lower quality than the EQ Diapers their baby is using. Raising his sword, LapuLapu angrily confronts Magellan and challenges him to a fight in Mactan.