There’s more to being an “epalitiko” than by having your name and your face plastered everywhere: on tarpaulins, inside government offices, on public vehicles and installations, and even on small, inconsequential items like medals or souvenirs.
If you really know how to get around the rules, you can.
Last February, the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) issued its “Anti-Epal” memorandum which prohibited the notorious practice of placing pictures and names of local officials on public spaces.
Among acts prohibited include the “display and/or affixture of the name, picture, image, motto, logo, color motif, initials, or other symbol or graphic representation associated with any public official on government projects and signboards.”
But some netizens wonder: do the prohibitions cover other, seemingly innocent, means of making sure your name is mentioned anywhere and everywhere?
That was the topic of a trending topic on Reddit these past few days about a certain government official here in Laguna (let’s call this official “Certified Epalitiko”) who has stopped at nothing to imprint their name everywhere, in very subtle ways.
Someone forwarded this columnist a post from a student in Laguna province, in which she noted that Certified Epalitiko's name is always mentioned during parts of graduation and recognition ceremonies.
"Survey lang po, kung sa graduation at recognition ng mga kamag-anak niyo...ganito rin po ba ang sinasabi kapag nakakatanggap sila ng medal - 'siya ay tatanggap ng medalya mula kay [Certified Epalitiko]?"
Not only that, during the recent celebration of a major festival in the province, a troubling (for some observers) pattern emerged during the question-and-answer portion of a major pageant.
One contestant in particular had this question thrown at her: “Anong nakikita mo sa ating lugar matapos ang isang termino ni [Certified Epalitiko]?”
Now, political issues and current affairs have been part and parcel of beauty pageants, but that question really borders on forcing candidates to kiss the bottoms of politicians.
Siyempre, dahil lokal na pamahalaan ang isa sa mga major organizer ng nasabing pageant, malamang sa malamang e hindi pwedeng magbigay ng negative answer ang contestant, no?
If those are not enough clues for you, dear readers, a prominent political analyst who’s also a native of this province (to the best of my recollection) has also pointed out that the name of Certified Epalitiko’s foundation has also been prominently featured in several projects that may or may not be government-funded.
Kung makakalusot talaga e makakalusot, ano?
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