Hi guys,
Thanks for the active participation in our discussion last Saturday. I had fun hearing your own thoughts on how public relations is perceived and defined by many, including your examples of brands (from local celebrities to global consumer products) that project a certain image but earned the opposite reputation. This goes to show that expensive advertising and promotions campaigns don’t necessarily work to the brand’s or organization’s advantage; in some cases, it can even highlight the disparity between the claimed image and the earned reputation.
I hope this discussion has made many of you realize that while image is important, it’s really reputation that can help make or break the brand. And we don’t have to go through lengthy discussions on what a negative reputation can do or not do to the brand.
Influencing public opinion
And who can forget Edward Bernays and his contribution to PR practice? I failed to share in class the video segment (no thanks to Smartbro), taken from the documentary The Century of the Self, that shows how Bernays used his understanding of social behavior to “engineer public consent,” most notable of which is probably his work on ’helping’ women get the right to smoke in public. Here’s the video:
Influencing public policy
Not all organizations today have a PR genius like Edward Bernays to help them influence public policy and legislation, but there’s lobbying to help them achieve the same objective. Good thing is, the UP Manila chapter of the Public Relations Student Society of the Philippines (PRSSP) is organizing a free seminar on lobbying, which I believe is a great opportunity for us to learn the practice from the professionals.
Please attend this seminar in lieu of our class this Saturday (attendance will be checked), and I’d like you to make a brief post in the comment section below about your biggest learning or realization on lobbying from the speakers. If you wish to expound more, you can write your comment in your own blog and post the link in the comment section below. Your answer forms part of your class participation for Orcom 105. To get you started on lobbying, check this site for some information.
See you guys on Dec. 3 and looking forward to your answers here and your submissions for the first group project. 
November 24, 2011 at 2:03 pm
My biggest learning from yesterday’s seminar is that lobbying is really one tough job. It requires a lot of determination, hard work, and patience just for the advocacy to get through. As what Ms. Janette Toral has said, “if you want something to happen, you must work on it.” Lobbyists work their asses off just to be listened or at least noticed by a congressperson. It is great to know that there are people who are willing to spend their time and efforts in convincing a congressperson to pursue a certain advocacy.
November 24, 2011 at 7:05 pm
“In lobbying for a cause one has to engage the legislative process” – 3rd Speaker
“If you do not exercise your right, more powerful lobbyists (the U.S. Embassy) will influence the senator’s vote. You are taxpayers, you have the right to raise your concerns and voice what you want.” -4th Speaker
Lobbying is similar to advocacy in that people invested in a certain cause are proactive members of society who see a need and do something about it. For lobbyists, the process is hard, tedious and can be disheartening. They have to sell their ideals to legislators and do their best to appeal to them with the hope of soliciting their support, thus, broadening their network of backers. Lobbying is a commitment that does end at the passing of a bill or a law, a person follows through the cause, well, forever, if it can be helped
Christine Stephanie Patricia V. Pineda
2009-20934
November 24, 2011 at 10:20 pm
The PRSSP’s seminar “In your fist” has provided UPM students to glimpse, and most importantly hear about first hand experiences of the four speakers about lobbying.
As I am quite new to the idea of PR, I had of little understanding as to what the first speaker Prof. Carl Ramota was introducing. As the seminar progressed, I was now getting a view of what Lobbying was: from Ma’am Janette Toral’s e-commerce review, to Ma’am Faith I Bacon’s tips on how to get what you want from congress, and with Mong Palatino’s final words for visiting the plenary hall.
Lobbying is not for the lazy, the shy and the noncommittal. This is a medium for those who decide to stop complaining and get results. A person will need to supply so many parts of their lives, to pass a bill to politicians with mega egos and minute attention spans. I learned that there are people out there who, although unnoticed, continue to fight for this country through lobbying their rights to being a Filipino citizen. Finally, these people fight this cause because it is a good cause, and it is the right way of doing the process. Their personal efforts have contributed greatly to their bill movement, but as the speakers have related, a great public relations plan would get your bill where it needs to be.
– Caiel Pajarillo
2008-39140
SBYDX
November 24, 2011 at 11:07 pm
The greatest learning I gained from the seminar is that a formalistic perspective on lobbying is only a misconception. According to Mr. Ramota, policy making isn’t just about the government, its organizational structure and its officials. It is affected by so many external factors which include lobbying. I learned that the assumption in lobbying is that people are organized into groups and that each group may have different interests. Lobbying by these groups is possible because ideally, power is dispersed in a democratic country. The power that these groups possess enables them to influence the decision of legislators. There are various means in which a group can utilize lobbying; one of which is through education. A group should present (to the legislator) pieces of evidence in support or against a certain bill, and in order to be effective in lobbying, there must be a strong back up of mass movement among stakeholders of the bill.
-Genie Cariño
2009-26961
November 25, 2011 at 12:44 am
Lobbying is a selfish act that enables an organization to push its own interests in legislation. I was outright wrong.
I was blinded by the impression that lobbying is done out of selfishness and greed by large organizations that affect or are affected by legislation, when in fact it is also done to achieve the greater good of the majority.
A great example would be the struggle for the passage of E-Commerce Law. It was handled by a group of netizens led by Janette Toral, and it involved a nationwide campaign pushing our legislators to draft the bill and put it into law. E-Commerce Law is definitely not lobbied by these people to please themselves or to pull off a publicity stunt over the Internet, but to protect each and everyone from harm and risk of transacting business and money over the Internet.
- Dan Levi A. Patacsil
November 25, 2011 at 4:36 am
Most of the time, we are quick to take words and speech for granted. Evolving technology, especially the internet, distract us into thinking that communication is power. Well, it is, but not always.
Our words have the power to affect people, and with the emergence of media-reliant technologies, little of us realize that our friends are not the only people who see what we broadcast online. The internet is especially powerful in this aspect. These days, there is no such thing as private space in the online world.
Lobbying, one of the topics presented, showed me just how powerful our words can be. Not only do they inform people; they have the power to convince them as well. Given the right information and proper delivery, we actually have the capability to make people see things our way. Of course, if we’re not careful, our words could also bring about some really negative effects, especially if we spoke up in the heat of the moment.
This job is not only about proper defense & content, it’s also about the way you present it, and how much you can persuade the audience. This is why we all have to watch our words, since they can really go a long way. If our words can pass laws, then there’s no telling what else they can do.
November 25, 2011 at 6:50 pm
I’ve learned and proven a lot of things after the seminar last Wednesday:
1. Lobbying is equals to advocacy. This advocacy isn’t made out of thin air but rather from facts and information.
2. Government is a battle dome. There are those who are called master “lobbyists” who reign and win.
3. Students aren’t passive participants. We play a significant role in public policy-making.
-Macky Papa
2009-55850
November 25, 2011 at 7:19 pm
Lobbying indeed requires a lot of persuading skills. Before attending the seminar, I think of lobbying as a negative act which is filled with selfish reasons. I thought that lobbying is only concerned about the organization involved and lobbyist would really do everything, may the actions be negative or positive, just to gain what the organization wants.
As the time the speakers speak and listened to what they are saying, all these negative thoughts that I had just went down the drain. Lobbying is more than the organization, the country can really benefit from the advocacy of the lobbyists. As I mentioned earlier, lobbying requires good persuasion skills for lobbying is equated to advocacy. Everyone has its goal and for the lobbyists, their goal is to promote their ideas and influence the public officials through giving them pieces of information that would help them gain the side of the public officials. I realized that public officials are somehow the major stakeholders of lobbyists because they build rapport to these officials in order to pass a bill.
As we can see, lobbying is not a selfish act at all. Some of the examples that were given by the speakers were the reproductive health bill and the e-commerce law which would also benefit the majority of the Filipinos. As to what I can see, lobbying is somehow a “government” act for it deals with public officials, legislation, and bills and laws.
November 26, 2011 at 8:14 pm
We might be sometimes fooled or influenced by other people’s negative perception about lobbying as a career. But based from what I have learned, lobbying is a fulfilling job. It is about representing the needs or interests of the majority, who cannot effectively voice out their concerns, and persuading the legislators to support you with your advocacy. It is educating people in order to see a wider perspective of things. It is about creating a network and building relationships with people in order for your position/advocacy to be heard/work out.
Like in any field of career, it is not lobbying that is “dirty” or unethical, it is the people practicing it who makes it appear as such. It is because a person who practices “real” or “responsible” lobbying is one who is a credible source of true information. It is just a matter of choice whether practitioners decide to stay on the dark side of the field.
Cheenee G. Medallon
2009-06960
November 27, 2011 at 3:38 pm
Lobbyists are advocates; they represent a particular side of an issue based on the concerns and reactions they have gotten from the community members. What I’ve learned from the seminar is that, lobbying is not necessarily something to avoid. It can be a socially responsible thing to do. By lobbying, we mean persuading those people in authority by providing them with reliable data and accurate assessments pertinent to a bill being voted on. In this practice, lobbyists assist the legislators to have informed and balanced decisions.
November 28, 2011 at 4:59 pm
The seminar organized by PRSSP on lobbying changed my negative perception of it. I attended the seminar with a thought that I won’t get much from it because I thought lobbying is a nuisance to our legislators and that lobbyists are selfish emissaries to get a good provision in a bill for their organizations.
Below are the important things that I’ve learned and realized:
1. Lobbying is an advocacy (Ms Faith Bacon). It takes a selfless person, not a selfish person, to champion the long process of lobbying.
2. Lobbying is an exercise of our democratic rights (Cong. Palatino, Kabataan Partylist). Our legislators appreciate our demand or position letters on a certain bill.
3. Lobbying gave birth to policies that a majority of us is enjoying. (E-Commerce Law, Cheaper Medicines Act, etc). And soon, RH Bill? =)
4. Lobbying is a good exercise of our communication and persuasion skills as OrCommunicologists.
Liezl Joy G Gaspay
SEG (13:00-16:00)
November 28, 2011 at 8:35 pm
Before the seminar, I had a very negative impression on lobbying. I thought it was something done by people representing organizations who aim to manipulate people’s (specifically, legislators’) minds in order to get what they want.
After the talks given by the invited speakers, though, I was able to grasp a clear image of what lobbying really is. I found that it was the complete opposite of selfish, because lobbyists are advocates who are all fighting for a cause that they are passionate for. They provide, not false figures and bribes, but accurate information that prove that the cause they are fighting for should be heard and acknowledged. We should all have a high regard for lobbyists–they don’t put in time and loads of patience for something that only they will benefit for.
Arielle Anne Anico
2009-46891
November 28, 2011 at 10:36 pm
Lobbying is a commitment. Just like any profession, it exhausts much of one’s patience and is definitely not for the faint-hearted. Coming from the speakers themselves, policy-making in the Philippines is an impossibly long and arduous process. One has to come to terms with repeated frustrations given that our legislators can pass certain bills overnight while the more “pressing” bills have to sit and wait for several more years. Incidentally, this is also the reason why advocacy and lobbying as a profession go hand in hand. It may be argued that lobbying is the truest form of civil empowerment because more than creating noise on the streets, these lobbyists/advocates are also actively involved in making a difference by intervening in the policy-making process. From the seminar, I gained a better sense of what lobbyists do. It entails not just persuasion or communication skills, but also a huge amount of dedication.
Koi Tejada
2009-04257
November 30, 2011 at 12:21 am
Before the seminar, I’ve always thought of lobbying as something evil and greedy. Media has portrayed lobbyists as master manipulators and skilled liars. However it is quite the contrary.
Lobbying takes time and dedication. And I think the prospect of money or a high salary is not enough motivation for anyone to go through years of trying to persuade a considerable amount of people. An individual must really care for the cause and must really think that this cause is worth it.
And it isnt only up to the lobbyists themselves. It takes active participation from everyone. They not only need to convince legislators but they also have to win the support of the public.
Bea Asuncion
2009-10466
November 30, 2011 at 4:52 am
When I hear the word lobbying, I always associate it with congressmen taking bribes so that big organizations will gain their support on a certain bills being passed in congress. I was tuned in on the news when congress was trying to pass the Cheaper Medicines Bill and I have heard a lot of under the table deals with some pharmaceutical companies and congressmen.
But when Prof Ramota had a talk about lobbying during the seminar, I realized that lobbying is not really evil after all. Lobbyists are committed individuals who are advocates of their cause. They exhaust all the resources they have just to promote their advocacy to our legislators.
With this seminar, I gained more insight on what lobbyists do and also I was able to see them in a better light.
November 30, 2011 at 11:27 pm
Lobbying is commonly perceived as the art of persuading legislators to advance selfish interests. After the seminar, I have gone deeper yet to another aspect of lobbying that can be interesting to any Orcommunicologists.
According to Mr Ramota, a country is organized into different groups; thus, there is a dispersion of power. This statement offers a realization that each of us is given equal chance or democratic space (as Mr Ramota calls it) to influence policies. Exchange of messages between authority and citizens is most essential in lobbying. I think that OrCom practitioners play a significant role in the aforementioned process because defending a cause or promoting an advocacy depends largely on effective communication.
For me, the seminar presented a more conceptual and political perspective of lobbying. However, it drives me to know more about its OrCom perspective.
- Suzette B. Glorioso
December 1, 2011 at 10:39 pm
Hello sir.
Like some of my classmates, my idea or let’s say stereotype for lobbying, veers toward the negative side again. Nevertheless, now I am aware that it can also be used as a means for increasing the awareness of people in the Senate or Congress regarding pressing issues in our society.
The greatest learning I have in mind is something which may altogether be simple but great enough in creating an impact in our country. Candidates vying for public offices usually make promises to the masses. They often tell the people that their victory in the elections will be the key for them to lobby certain issues which will be in favor of a particular sector. However, the speaker (unfortunately I forgot the name) noted that if a candidate does not become a committee chair, then all the promises he or she made will not have a sure fruit.
The problem is that most of the Filipinos are not very aware of such proceedings. So, they may perhaps go on thinking that their problems will be lessened once their favored candidates win.
Facts like this need to be communicated properly to the people. I think it is our responsibility to deliver them the truth.
-FRANCES ANNE DR BAUTISTA, 2009-25866 , SEG
December 2, 2011 at 11:46 pm
These days, the terms lobbying and lobbyists besides being strongly linked to public relations, they also have negative connotations attached to them. Prior to the seminar held last Wednesday, my perception on lobbying is quite similar to those of others such as off-putting and rather unethical. However, after attending and listening to the speakers, It seemed that like any other matters in this world, it has advantges and disadvantages. The speeches actually helped in opening my mind and stopped me from boxing myself to the notion that lobbying is detrimental to a society. If our country’s the case, lobbying may be used to block certain issues from coming out or used to forward messages which may seem to be in favor of a particular district or sector.
I have gained one important knowledge and that is lobbying helps public concerns to be voiced out. It may or may not be illegal depending on the situation. It actually promotes openness among our society.
The seminar gave me a good grasp of what Lobbying really is. I hope this opportunity may also be given even to those who are unknown to the concept.
Ma. Katrina P. Alvarez
09-21682
December 3, 2011 at 2:02 am
I’ve always had a negative impression on lobbying ever since I heard of it from our OrCom 101 class. However, I was proven wrong after I attended a lobbying seminar organized by the PRSSP. A good lobbyist doesn’t sugarcoat things and makes sure that he/she is able to present both sides of an issue to the legislators. Some say that it is all “dirty work” since how can someone present both sides of the issue without favoring to one side–especially to that side where the odds are in the lobbyists favors. However, these lobbyists only aim for the good of all the members of the community where they belong to. It’s not a selfish act at all.
Although I am not still interested in pursuing a career in lobbying, at least I learned that it is not a “dirty job” at all and that it actually promotes public welfare. Maybe we have just been blinded by what we all see in the media, hence the negative perception on lobbying.
Mary Ysabelle A. Mercader
2009-09818
December 3, 2011 at 3:31 am
I was initially exposed to the fact that lobbying is an act done by corporations to influence our legislation for their benefit, hence my negative perception of it. However, the invited lobbyists in the seminar who prefer to call themselves “advocates” changed the way I view lobbying.
Lobbying for them is an advocacy. The will to address the injustice experienced by our countrymen drives them to undergo such a tedious process. Their testimonies about the difficulties they underwent just to be able to represent the needs of a particular sector of society, are proofs that dealing with our legislators require great patience and determination.
Their talk made me realize the importance of networking. Knowing who the right person to talk to in the legislature largely affects the success of the advocacy or the lobbying process. Opinion leaders in the Congress help the advocates’ voice their needs to other lawmakers. These people are sometimes called by the advocates as “rock star advocates”, e.g., Juan Flavier who was chosen as the spokesperson of the E-Commerce Bill.
The lobbyists also emphasized countless of times, to involve the masses in the process. Mass movement can be beneficial at times because the more people are involved in the advocacy, the more attention one can gain from the legislators.
- Christa Aragon, 09-11524
December 4, 2011 at 3:43 pm
The first time I heard of the word lobbying was in our Orcom 101 class. As far as I can remember lobbying is persuading an authoritative and public figure in order to execute the interest of a group. It deals with influencing congressmen, those who are in the legislation process, to pass revisions in certain laws. From this perspective, lobbying is tainted with the negative connotation of bribery or manipulation of political figures.
Fortunately, PRSSP organized a seminar that would clarify misconceptions on lobbying. The three speakers gave unique stands but their common ground is backed up with legal and technical terms. At first it was difficult to understand since we are Orcomm majors, it would have been better if there were speakers in the advertising field for they also practice lobbying. Still, the speakers were able to give meaningful statements like Faith Bacon who told us that lobbying is an advocacy. It is about pushing through on what you believe is right for the society. Professor Ramota also shared that lobbying is not biased to a particular side.
Everyone has the ability to voice their opinion as long as it is backed up by sufficient evidence.
I am not sure if I would pursue lobbying as a career but it is very interesting for it can contribute something to society. It is now clear to me that lobbying is not a dirty career at all.
Ma. Eliza Abbey S. Sore
2009-85032
December 4, 2011 at 9:33 pm
I felt and learned that one of the most emphasized and most important things in (or behind) lobbying is the ability to influence. That, at least, is a step towards taking a stand and starting a change. I learned that through the art of sensible persuasion, you can advocate and develop awareness for a certain cause that you know needs the attention of the higher-ups.
Another concept that was emphasized in the seminar was power. As people who specialize in communication, we have the power to persuade and be successful in lobbying. One speaker said that when you have control over communication, and you use that control to your advantage, you have power. When you have the ability to make meaning, you have power. I think that these are true. Communication can take you a long way, as long as you know how to use it effectively. You can use it to make people see a cause from your perspective, influence them, and make a change.
I first heard of the concept of lobbying when I attended the Grand Prix just this year. I have known that it’s about dealing with government leaders and decision-makers. In all honesty, I wasn’t interested in it that much after finding out the gist of it. I saw it as something that’s too technical, and I thought that it focused much on the legal side of things. After the seminar, I couldn’t say (yet) that I’ve completely changed my mind about lobbying. However, at least, I was enlightened further. If and when I pursue PR as a career, at least I know that I must familiarize myself with this aspect of the field.
More than anything, through the lobbying seminar, I was able to see that the field of PR is not something that should be completely and always frowned upon. It actually is dedicated to doing something good for the society.
- Camille P. Oliveras, 2009-01458