Public figures endorsing companies or products — particularly those that are considered operating or being sold contrary to law — are not free of accountability, in the view of a Department of Justice official.

Without referring to any individual, Justice Undersecretary Geronimo Sy, in a commentary, raised conflict of interest as the primary consideration when elected officials accept endorsement contracts.

“If the company runs afoul of the law or does not follow regulations and the public official is mandated to act, it will be a clear case of conflict of interest,” Sy said.

He said that ethical questions remain even if the politician asserts that the income from a product endorsement will be given to charity.

The Securities and Exchange Commission, in an en banc decision last 5 December, issued a cease-and-desist order on Superbreakthrough Enterprises, which uses the 1UP brand, for illegally soliciting investments from the public.

DAILY TRIBUNE, in reviewing the company’s trail, found that 1UP’s “brand ambassador” was Senator Raffy Tulfo.

Tulfo’s counsel, Garreth Tungol, admitted his client had a one-year memorandum of agreement with 1UP but claimed that the lawmaker was not involved in either the product sale or the solicitation of investments, which was the subject of the SEC order.

“The CDO did not ask us to stop endorsing the product,” Tungol said. The lawyer insinuated that DAILY TRIBUNE had an agenda to print the report on Tulfo, which came about while checking on 1UP’s activities.

“Our main concern is that the author of that article in the DAILY TRIBUNE insinuated that the senator had endorsed a Ponzi scheme. Where he got that information, we do not know. We are drafting a proper legal action against that author,” Tungol said.

“It almost amounts to libel, so I’m in the process of getting the names of the editors, the authors of the article, because from the title itself, there’s a malicious imputation against the senator,” he said. 

“DAILY TRIBUNE is a highly respected broadsheet, and the senator, who has a background in media, asked: ‘How come?’”

Endorsement, selling different

“Again, what we endorsed was not those who were selling it but the product itself. So, we will continue the memorandum of agreement because we are obliged under the contract to continue it,” Tungol said.

“There’s no lawful order to prevent the senator from endorsing the product, which was approved by the proper licensing and other regulatory bodies. We will continue. I have advised him to continue that,” he said.

He added: “The money earned from product endorsements is given to causes that help people daily. There was a reckless disregard to verify information before publishing a story, so we are now forced to take legal action later on.”

“Endorsing the quality of the product is not equal [to] how it is sold,” he said.

However, Undersecretary Sy’s legal view is that “even if politicians accept no compensation for their efforts or appearances or waive it in favor of a charity, there is no doubt that they benefit from the free, public, and constant exposure.”

Code of conduct

The Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees covers elective and appointive officials and government employees, including military and police personnel.

Sy said senators and mayors “are surely included in this definition.”

“They are prohibited from having a financial and material interest in any transaction requiring the approval of their office or in engaging in outside employment and other related activities. They cannot practice their profession unless authorized by the Constitution or law. They cannot own, control, manage or accept employment as an officer, employee, consultant, counsel, broker, agent, trustee, or nominee in any private enterprise regulated, supervised, or licensed by their office unless expressly allowed by law,” according to Sy.

“The unease we feel with politicians as endorsers goes beyond the impositions of law. An employee is expected to devote his working time and effort to his employer. A government official is an employee of the state, and the commitment to public interest is primordial,” he added.

Public servants must “discourage wrong perceptions of their roles as dispensers or peddlers of undue patronage.”

“Appearing in media, including social media with the consequent thousands of followers and millions of likes, transforms the heart, soul, and image of the public official as a servant into one of a celebrity and a star. And these types are not the ones who lead modest lives appropriate to their positions and income,” Sy said.

“In the end, what is essential in the process is that politicians endorsing products, goods, and services are avoidable and unnecessary,” he added.

The late Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago had frowned on elected officials endorsing products and had called on the people not to vote for those who appeared on television, billboards, and other media on the pretext of pushing personal advocacies.

Sy is a career state prosecutor who handled major cases like the Multitel/Baladjay pyramid scam, the Dacer-Corbito double murder, the Esperat media killing, the Fort Bonifacio coup, and the conviction of the first terrorism (Rizal Day bomber Al-Ghozi) and first cybercrime (Office of the President hacking) cases.

He is the former lead prosecutor for various task forces on terrorism, business fraud, corruption, and human trafficking and presided over the e-Government Task Force on Cybercrime and Cybersecurity.