The Grupo Progreso spokesperson scored a song written by Filipino folk musician Freddie Aguilar for mayoral candidate Alfredo “Albee” Benitez, which he said pictured Bacolod City as a “seat of crimes and corruption”.
The campaign jingle entitled, “Wakasan Ang Krimen”, has made the rounds on social media platforms the past few days, Dr. Chris Sorongon, GP spokesperson said on Wednesday, April 6.
Sorongon, in his statement sent by the Bacolod City Public Information Office, said GP condemns Benitez and Aguilar’s “derogatory campaign jingle”.
It is ironic that Benitez commissioned Aguilar to compose and interpret a campaign jingle that obviously pictures the city as the seat of crimes and corruption, Sorongon said.
“The jingle does not only leave a bad taste on the mouth but may be considered as ‘fake news’. Created by Mr. Aguilar, a has-been who is a non-Bacolod resident, the song is not only a derogatory piece of trash but also a clear black propaganda tool that insults Grupo Progreso as well as the entire decent citizenry of Bacolod,“ he said.
The song titled “Albee kaayuhan sang Bacolod” posted on the Albee the Change Facebook page (https://fb.watch/cdncWwAGZL/) is not the campaign jingle of Team Asenso, but a song composed and sang by Aguilar that he gave as a gift to Benitez, former Negros Occidental Board Member Patrick Lacson, who is running for councilor, said.
“The title of the song is not “Wakasan ang Krimen”. This is a work of art, and a reflection of his (Aguilar’s) observation to what is happening in our society, and Bacolod. If they are hurt, then truth really hurts. It is not an insult to the people of Bacolod, but a challenge to the incumbent city officials led by GP to stop crime and corruption,” he added.
“What is ironic, is that the administration and its candidates don’t see the same”, Lacson said.
Sorongon said Bacolod’s crime volume is only 234 for the period covering January to February 2022, the sixth lowest among two highly urbanized cities and six provinces in Region 6.
Iloilo Province’s crime volume during the same period was the highest at 849, followed by Negros Occidental at 688 , Iloilo City – 687, Capiz – 355, Aklan – 249, Bacolod – 234, Antique – 165, and Guimaras – 59 according to Lt. Col. Lester Leada, Bacolod City Police Office head, Sorongon pointed out.
He further quoted Leada as saying that given the data, Bacolod is generally peaceful as against other LGUs that belong to the same category.
“Netizens, who listened to Aguilar’s ‘Wakasan Ang Krimen’, opined that the content of the jingle is a hardsell, an act of desperation as it portrays Mr. Benitez, who paid him to do the campaign jingle, as the bringer of solutions to purported crimes that they are imagining to be happening in our city,” Sorongon said.
“Bacolod would not have garnered numerous awards if crimes and corruption, as implied in the campaign jingle, do thrive in our city,” he added.*