Taking a stand not just for the OPM community but for the music industry as a whole, Pinoy rock icon Raimund Marasigan did not mince his words when he took a swipe at political candidates who use without permission popular songs as jingles for their electoral campaigns.
"Whenever you hear an unauthorized bastardized version of a popular song as an election jingle, please don’t vote [for] that candidate," the Sandwich frontman wrote.
"Di pa na-elect nagnakaw na," he added.
whenever you hear an unauthorized bastardized version of a popular song as an election jingle, pls don’t vote that candidate.
— Raymund Marasigan (@raymsmercygun) April 3, 2019
dipa naelect nagnakaw na😎
One netizen asked how people would be able to identify whether or not an artist has authorized a political candidate to use a song in his/her campaign jingle.
He then replied: "Here’s a few ways you can find out. You can ask the artist, their management, or the label. Maybe even FILSCAP."
Hahaha
— King Audric (@al_dwin) April 3, 2019
Wait Sir, noob question, paano namin malalaman pag authorized by artist yung ginagamit nilang campaign jingle?
Meanwhile, netizens agreed with Marasigan's sentiments, sharing their thoughts about the use of unauthorized songs in campaign jingles.
Kanta nga kinukuha nang walang paalam, pera pa kaya ng taumbayan.
— Gep Macadaeg (@gepmacadaeg) April 3, 2019
actually, it's still quite fishy even if they obtained the right to use the tune legally. that would cost millions (probably) and saan naman nila kukunin yung pera na yon? you can argue that they have the money pero di naman nila mababawi yon sa sweldo nila pag nanalo sila.
— Miggy (@giuseppemihajlo) April 4, 2019
While the Filipino Society of Composers, Artists, and Publishers (FILSCAP) has worked on an agreement with Commission on Elections regarding the matter back in 2016, there are still candidates who try to evade it, going against Republic Act 8293 or the Intellectual Property Code of the Philippines.