Lola Amour protests unauthorized use of 'Raining in Manila' in campaigns

Popular OPM band Lola Amour has called out politicians who used their viral hit “Raining in Manila” as campaign jingles during the recent elections without their permission.

In an interview with Boy Abunda, frontman Pio Dumayas revealed that the group immediately took to social media to clarify their stance when they discovered their song was being repurposed for political campaigns.

“Nag-post kami na hindi kami connected sa mga jingles na ‘to or do’n sa mga politicians that are using our music… We just wanted to protect our fans from thinking na nag-e-endorse kami ng mga taong hindi namin alam ‘yung plataporma,” he explained, adding that the politicians involved were from local government units they weren’t even familiar with.

This, Dumayas noted, was not the first time their music was exploited during election season.

“This is the second election that this happened actually… We’re just reminding everyone na hindi namin ine-endorse ‘tong mga ‘to. Hindi namin alam kung magandang politician ba ‘to o hindi, so we’re disassociating,” he said.

The issue eventually reached the Commission on Elections (COMELEC), which advised the band to file a formal complaint. However, Lola Amour admitted they lacked sufficient evidence, as most of the unauthorized jingles had already been taken down online once the controversy surfaced.

Despite this setback, the group expressed satisfaction that their experience reignited a crucial conversation: the long-standing problem of political campaigns using artists’ works without consent.

“At least we were able to open up this conversation na years, decades na siyang ginagamit ‘yung mga music ng artists na wala namang permission,” Dumayas concluded.

With “Raining in Manila” continuing to dominate airwaves and streaming platforms, Lola Amour hopes their stand will encourage greater respect for intellectual property and fair treatment of artists in the political arena.