The “Cookie” jingle of Mocha Uson earned the attention of the COMELEC.
The Commission on Elections (COMELEC) called out Mocha Uson on Wednesday regarding her intriguing campaign jingle.
Vlogger Esther Margaux “Mocha” Uson is running for councilor in the 3rd District of Manila. As much as we all know, election season is when people are being creative to attract attention and to leave a lasting impression and familiarity on the people or the voters through their campaign jingles.
On Wednesday, April 8, the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) sent a letter to Uson regarding her “sexually suggestive” poll campaign. Comelec Chairman George Erwin Garcia issued the reminder after Mocha’s “cookie” jingle was criticized for having a double meaning.
The campaign jingle “Cookie ni Mocha” sounds close to the Filipino word for the female private part, which prompted the poll body to ask Uson to be more “direct to the point” in promoting her campaign advocacies.
“Puns and double meanings may be used as literary devices in campaigns, but we hope that these are used not to distract from your political platform or skirt the line between accepted speech and obscenity, as we are in the context of elections,” the COMELEC said.
Her jingle goes this way: “Cookie ni Mocha, ang sarap sarap” and “Ang cookie ni Mocha, bawat kagat, may malasakit at saya.”
The intriguing elements in her campaign can accordingly detract from the serious discussions regarding policy, governance, and the future of communities. The letter is not demeaning to Uson’s campaign platform but encouraging her to come up with something that is more age-appropriate.
In response, Uson heeds the advice of the COMELEC and adds that she already ordered her staff to “halt the use of the materials in question.”
She accordingly recognized the “importance of maintaining a respectful, inclusive, and age-appropriate tone in all campaign communications” and that they are now reviewing their content to make sure that it aligns with the “standards of decency and appropriateness expected in public discourse and electoral engagement.”
What can you say about this? Let us know in the comments!