‘Echiverri nice’ gimmick?

THIS is definitely not the season for humility, of letting one’s achievements do the talking. This is the season of inflating one’s accomplishments whether real, imagined, or promised.

In Caloocan City, you won’t move a mile without seeing the name and face of its mayor, Enrico “Recom” Echiverri. When he came to office in 2004, he came up with the slogan “Echiverri Nice City.” You’ll see these words wrapped around a blushing yellow smiley with a thumbs up, complete with a mustache much like the mayor’s. Then he attached it to almost anything that doesn’t move. His every accomplishment, even the most mundane, like having a drainage cleaned, is trumpeted via a billboard. In almost every street corner, he has a a banner or a billboard.

Lately, the mayor’s posters and billboards include the name of his son, Ricojudge, barangay captain of Morning Breeze village who is running for congressman of the city’s first district. The mayor even finds ways to insert his and his son’s name in banners about government events, though he offered nothing beyond the slogan.

For example, during the Fire Prevention Month, the city’s banners reminded the people of the 117 hotline for police and fire emergencies. Though the hotline is the most important message, it is minuscule compared to the size of the font used for the names of the mayor and his son. Even banners about religious events display his name more prominently than the bishop and the priest who were guests at the event.

Visitors to the city begin to see the mayor’s face in city boundaries. On Edsa, there’s a huge billboard with Echiverri sounding religious with his battlecry “Pray hard, it works!” Of course, his name gets the bigger share of the ad space. From there on, you’ll see his name and face at the LRT’s wall facing the Monumento rotunda and in almost every street. It’s also on walls, city hall vehicles, and city hall workers’ shirts. The mayor also didn’t spare the “men at work” signs in the city.

While some of these efforts at self-promotion may seem absurd and laughable, it’s not funny when one considers the regulations ignored and the costs involved. A glossy billboard costs P80 per square foot. Lighting for small billboards demands a 50-watt spotlight. Of course, City Hall absorbs these costs. The mayor’s office claims the signages proclaiming the mayor’s accomplishments are “donated” by contractors behind the projects.

Then there are the rules set aside. All signages, even for sari-sari stores, must be approved by the city’s building official to ensure public safety. But an official in that department says Mayor Echiverri’s banners, billboards and signages do not go through the process. The official, who requested anonymity, adds that his office is bent on complying with a directive from the Department of Public Works and Highways for the removal of all billboards along major streets. This is why banners advertising a motel along the Edsa portion of the city have been removed. However, Echiverri’s billboards remain on either side, and even in the middle of the road.