Mignonette de la Paz Reposar, an executive of the National Youth Council who is very active in the advocacy for responsible media, recalls that the "campaign against TV program hosts endorsing products was at its all time high in the early ‘80s when the PANA was still active in maintaining truth in advertising and frowned upon programs that did not promote positive values".

PANA is still around, we should alert Ms. Reposar, but ever since its former executive director began taking the back seat, little has been heard about the organization.

Reposar further wishes that "the current PANA will continue to emphasize good values in all ad messages that it reviews and endorses."

We understand where Reposar is coming from. She is, after all, a mother of three.

Cecile Valbuena of Guagua, Pampanga says she is a homemaker and is glued on the TV set each time her kids, aged five and seven, are watching.

She "envies the smart move made by New Zealand in protecting the interest of their children" and hopes that the local advertising and broadcasting industries would follow suit.

"Our TV stations hardly care about children’s viewing hours. I see ads meant for adults in program zones for children. The big stations, even our government networks, are guilty of this. Many kiddie programs have direct commercial participation within the show."

Valbuena recounts that when her seven-year-old watched a few locally produced shows for children, the kid would nag her to buy the products mentioned or featured by the kiddie hosts of the program.

"It was sheer psychological warfare on children that preyed on helpless and hapless families like ours."

In New Zealand, sponsors can promote or announce their association with the program through press announcements, sales blitzes and other forms of promotion as long as these are done outside of the TV program proper. Any commercial acknowledgement, however, linked with the TV show must not be obvious or dominant.

Occasionally, product identification or corporate support to the show may be allowed to a certain extent in opening and closing billboards accompanied at times by discreet visual, sometimes verbal, acknowledgement.

The Advertising Standards Authority of New Zealand requires advertisements addressed to children to strictly follow three key requisites. The ads should be clearly recognizable as such by children and be differentiated from the program material. A high standard of social responsibility should be observed.

The ads should not mislead or deceive or be likely to mislead or deceive children, abuse the trust of or exploit the lack of knowledge of kids.

Neither should they exploit the superstitious among audiences or without justifiable reason, to play on fear.

Finally, ads should not encourage inappropriate purchases or excessive consumption.

The NZ code further promotes the healthy idea of empowerment, encouraging audiences to complain. There are ample announcements about why, how, where and when to lodge complaints relative to TV ads and programs especially if these affect kids.

For the likes of Reposar and Valbuena, and for the peace of mind of millions of irate parents around the country, Anak TV will endeavor to adopt the New Zealand policies and convince the broadcast and advertising authorities to heed.

After all, it is the next generation’s welfare and not the bottom line that should matter.