Musician Raymund Marasigan urges public not to vote for election candidates who use songs without artists’ permission

It’s election season in the Philippines, which means the streets, radio, and TV are once again flooded with campaign jingles. These promotional songs are usually based on pop music, a practice Filipino rock star Raymund Marasigan spoke out against in a recent tweet.

The frontman of the band Sandwich took to Twitter yesterday to express his displeasure at candidates running in this year’s elections who use songs without artists’ permission.

He wrote: “[W]henever you hear an unauthorized bastardized version of a popular song as an election jingle, please don’t vote [for] that candidate.”

“They haven’t even been elected and they’re already stealing something,” he said.

whenever you hear an unauthorized bastardized version of a popular song as an election jingle, pls don’t vote that candidate.

dipa naelect nagnakaw na😎

— Raymund Marasigan (@raymsmercygun) April 3, 2019

Marasigan’s tweet has gone viral and has been retweeted more than 2,000 times.

Filipino candidates often use catchy jingles for their campaigns. They use a popular song’s melody but change its lyrics to something more self-promotional. It’s a pretty common practice done by local and national candidates — from mayoral to presidential aspirants — and it’s likely that many of those who have done this have never paid a songwriter for the unauthorized use of their creations.

Many netizens agreed with Marasigan’s opinion, such as @gepmacadaeg, who wrote: “They steal songs, what more the people’s money.”

Kanta nga kinukuha nang walang paalam, pera pa kaya ng taumbayan.

— Gep Macadaeg (@gepmacadaeg) April 3, 2019

“A lot of candidates are using the melody of Sugod,” wrote @artpaperr.

Sugod is one of Sandwich’s most popular songs.

madami nga gumagamit ng Sugod melody

— Pilot Jones (@artpaperr) April 4, 2019

@chsklns wrote: “Do they really think it’s still effective to use a jingle? It’s so loud.”

These re-imagined versions of songs are usually blasted at super high volumes from roving vehicles owned by the candidates or their parties. Some people find them really annoying.

Kala ba nila effective pa ang gumawa ng jingle . Ang ingay eh

— cheska (@chsklns) April 4, 2019

Will you follow Marasigan’s advice? Let us know by leaving a comment below or tweeting to @CoconutsManila.