Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago continues to be a wellspring of quotable quotes. Yesterday she dished out yet another one that I find really interesting. She said:
“Eh kasi nakakainis eh… Eh…insultuhan ng insultuhan tungkol sa bagay pampulitika at kokonti na lang panahon namin…”
“Lahat na kami mag-resign kung ganyan rin lang palang mag-away away kami at wala naman na kaming silbi sa taongbayan… eh bakit pa kami mag-di-display ng aming bad manners and bad conduct.”
(Roughly translated)
“It’s frustrating. All we do is trade insults over politics considering we are running out of time…”
“We should just resign if all we’re going to do is fight with each other and we no longer have any use to the public. Why should we display our bad manners and bad conduct.”
Santiago made this statement after walking out of yesterday’s Senate session wherein she lambasted her colleagues for their conduct the day before.
If you’re the sort of citizen who demands quality service from your leaders you’re probably dismayed as well with what went on during last Monday’s discussion on the committee report on Senator Manny Villar’s case. I think it was like watching spoiled children fighting.
I don’t have much to say about Villar’s case except that I find it highly questionable that the former senate president would refuse to exercise his right to face his accusers.
Anyway, going back to Santiago’s statement which inspired this post, I can’t say I disagree with her idea that if the Senate will just focus on politics and childish bickering it would be best for all the senators to just resign. Maybe it’s time we start considering the possibility of abolishing the Senate.
A commenter identified as Dr. Jose Rizal II left this insightful observation on Manolo Quezon III’s blogpost titled “Leaders and Managers.”
The biggest clincher really, Manolo, is that the Philippine Senate, being nationally-elected, DOES NOT REPRESENT ANY CONSTITUENCIES, unlike the US Senate whose constituencies are the various States. Because of this, the Senators do not really answer to anyone. Unlike in the USA where Senators answer to the States each of them represent, and constantly receive a barrage of letters from people in their respective states pleading different causes and issues, the Philippine Senate has Senators who, practically speaking, answer to no one.
It is no wonder, thus, that the Philippine Senate doesn’t really have much to do so that some of their members – one of whom is Noynoy – don’t really do any real legislation work, even if by definition, being a Senator means being a lawmaker.
Instead, such Senatorial slackers look for other “more interesting” things to do such as “questioning what the President does” (referred to by Filipinos as “fiscalizing” – a word which does not exist in the English language) and worse, are constantly in the look out for SCANDALS that have more to do with the lives of showbiz celebrities than with the National Interest. Scandals like the Senate Inquiry on the Brunei Beauties long ago as well as the recent Hayden Kho Sex Video Scandal come to mind.
You can read the full comment here. And, here’s the video of Senator Santiago saying her quotable quote.
The beginning of the year signals the start of the business renewal season. At the various city and municipal halls, business owners are now scrambling to beat the deadline to avoid penalties.
The process for the renewal of business permits is as follows:
1. Compilation of business and other documents (old mayor’s permit, declaration of sales, tax documents, official receipts of payments etc.)
2. Presentation of documents for evaluation and assessment
3. Payment of official fees (city tax, garbage fee, sanitary fee etc.)
4. Claiming of Business Permit
The process stated above is the simplified and generalized version. Each local government unit follows its own system. From what I’ve been hearing from some of my businessmen friends, most LGUs here in Metro Manila have already optimized their systems for the benefit of business owners. Unfortunately a few still have dismal systems. I asked a friend of mine whose firm provides business renewal services to give me an assessment of the various LGUs. He gave me a ranking from the most to the least business-friendly. Here it is:
Makati
San Juan
Pasig
Manila
Muntinlupa
Paranaque
Marikina
Mandaluyong
Quezon City
I can’t really say I was surprised with the ranking he gave to Quezon City. For the past several years, I have been hearing my friend complain about how the system in Quezon City Hall has gone from bad to worse. He has two words to describe it: Red Tape.
But that’s not the worst. His biggest gripe concerns the evaluation of past income from which the amount of city tax and other business fees is computed. My friend says QC’s evaluators routinely impose their own estimates without due consideration to the veracity of the documents submitted by business owners. He cites the case of one of his clients who opened a barber shop just last month (December). He explains that since it was just a new business the barbershop naturally did not make much money yet. It just grossed P2,850 as of December he says.
Now, here’s the big shocker. The evaluator who checked the barbershop’s papers rejected the declared amount and imposed an income declaration of P200,000 from which the total amount of city tax will be derived.
My friend says this has been going on at QC City Hall for the past few years now. He says things even took a turn for the worse. Now, the imposition of arbitrary amounts is no longer dependent solely on whimsy. QC Hall’s evaluators are now actually following some kind of standard. Just go to city hall and you’ll find a memo about this posted somewhere.
The issue here is not so much that QC Hall’s evaluators refuse to accept the fact that not all businesses make money and that some actually do not make anything at all as in the case of businesses that were registered but whose operations did not actually push through. My friend explains that it’s more about the fact that the amounts imposed by the evaluators are excessive — abusive even.
Now I’m wondering how Quezon City Hall manages to curb graft and corruption within itself while such a practice is in place. Only a fool would think that no haggling and no “offers” to assist in the circumvention of this city tax scheme are ever made between the evaluators/assessors/collectors and the city’s business owners.
Perhaps, Quezon City Mayor Sonny Belmonte should look into this — if he doesn’t already know about it.
I have a theory. The election campaigns of our presidential candidates are all run by one and the same group of people.
I say this because political advertisements being aired and published now are all basically saying the same things. There’s really not much difference among them. In my observation, here are some of the most glaring similarities insofar as TV ads are concerned:
1. the ads communicate the message that their candidate is a saviour of some sort
2. visual elements are mostly the same — candidates mingling with ordinary people, distraught people, poor people, etc.
3. the ads highlight at least one all-encompassing promise
4. the ads end with a cheesy slogan
5. the ads are backed by a catchy song
Advertising experts may say that with the limited allotted time — usually from 30 seconds to 1 minute — there’s hardly any room to include more substantial information therefore they just make do with using the elements enumerated above. I suspct there’s more to it than just that. I think the candidates and/or their campaign managers are just afraid to take risks and would rather just stick to tried and tested methods.
The website www.media-awareness.ca provides us with a more comprehensive list of political advertising techniques. Here it is lifted from their website:
1. Patriotism: The ad stresses the candidate’s love of and service to his/her country.
2. Gender: The ad presents the candidate as appropriately “manly” (or feminine) to make viewers trust him/her.
3. Family: The ad uses images of ideal families to give you a positive image of the candidate.
4. Excitement: The ad tries to create a sense of energy and excitement around the candidate.
5. Star Power: A celebrity is telling you that they support the candidate.
6. Bandwagon: The ad tries to create the impression that everybody already supports the candidate.
7. Put Downs: The ad insults the candidate’s opponent.
8. Facts and Figures: The ad uses facts and statistics to support the candidate’s policies.
9. Just Folks: The ad portrays the candidate as a “regular guy” (or girl).
10. Heart Strings: The ad tells a story that makes you feel good.
11. Sounds Good: The ad uses music (with or without lyrics) to be memorable, entertaining and exciting.
12. Cartoons and Animals: The ad makes its point with cartoon characters or (usually symbolic) animals.
13. Weasel Words: The ad includes promises that sound good but lack details.
14. Integrity: The ad tries to convince you that the candidate is honest and trustworthy.
15. Fear: The ad tries to frighten you into voting for the candidate (or at least not voting for his/her opponent).
(to see the list on their website go to this link)
Entry 12, cartoons and animals, is interesting. I’m sure you can make the connection yourself, but if you ask me I’d say the word reptilian comes to mind — and chicken too. I’m actually more interested in entry number 8, facts and figures. Maybe I’m wrong but I don’t think this is a standard feature in local political ads, is it? Anyway, this leads me to the main point I’ve been making all this time: Our political candidates are all just pandering and none of them are audacious enough to add more substance to their political advertisements.
This is quite unfortunate considering that more and more people are now demanding real and useful information. I’m of course talking about detailed plans. The way I see it there is an untapped opportunity here for any candidate to set himself or herself apart from the rest. This opportunity is especially perfect for candidates who are trailing behind perception-wise. Since they’re in the lowest rungs anyway they should be willing to take more risks with how they communicate their message. Instead of the usual pandering stuff they can come out with truly informative ads.
Runnning time a limitation? No problem. Just follow the format used for those one-minuter radio or TV reports. An example would be an ad featuring just the candidate talking about one specific issue and providing some specifics on exactly how he/she plans to address it.
Senator Noynoy Aquino’s “Hindi Ako Mag-Nanakaw” ad shows us that one can already say a lot of things in a one-minuter ad. Unfortunately, substance-wise it does not make the grade. Fortunately, this is easy to fix. Simply removing all the pandering stuff and keeping the focus on just one particular issue would easily do the trick.
Candidates, especially those who are lagging behind, should seriously consider this approach. In terms of cost, information-filled ads like the one I’m suggesting will obviously cost much less. The budget deprived can even create one just using a webcam and uploading the end-product on the internet. If the message is really good, the ad may even go viral.
Election time is here again. Many of you will shrug this off as another of those futile exercise that we as a dysfunctional nation go through.
Let me tell you, THIS TIME IT IS DIFFERENT. IF we make it so. Why?
1. This is the FIRST TIME THAT IT IS AUTOMATED: COMPLETE WITH FINGERPRINTS (BIOMETRICS). Naysayers talk of loopholes. But one thing is sure: Cheating will certainly be cut down (no ghost voters, no carbon papers, etc…)now. I say, first time. The next time around,some smart-pinoys will know how to go around it. Then cheating begins to accelerate again. WE HAVE TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THIS FIRST AUTOMATED ELECTION.
2. We are now in a precarious situation: World financial crisis, Ondoy, Pepeng, Mt. Mayon, especially the pervasive apathy etc… We are slowly trudging to our doom. If we do not elect a good president this time, we will spiral down this pit. But, if we elect a good president, there is a big chance that we can rise up very quickly too. That is, if the next president will know how to position our country in the current world crisis.
3. There are more alternative media: more social networks,SMS/GMS and information is much much more accessible than before.
4. We have better choices (of candidates) now. Believe me! We do have a GOOD CHOICE!
MY APPEAL TO THE EDUCATED FILIPINOS WHO HAVE MORE ACCESS TO INFORMATION IS THIS: We must vote for the MOST QUALIFIED CANDIDATE TO LEAD us. AND we must CONVINCE all people within our circle of influence to vote for our choice! We, the educated people of our land should pave the way for our next president. Not the artista’s, singers, paid-media persons and other personalities. PLEASE! WE DO THIS CORNY THING EVEN JUST THIS ONCE.
HOW?
1. Be objective! Examine the candidates well. WITHOUT biases you know, surveys, benefits that you’ll gain when he’s president (for your business or careers–Pls., esp. not this! kaya naghihika-us tayo eh.), party-affiliations, strategic voting, etc… Here are some links that might start you out:
Che-Che Lazaro did a comprehensive interview of the candidates in alphabetical order. (You may also search for the interviews of candidates in the search box of probetv):
2. Do a background check on your chosen candidate: Google search, I think will do. Check allegations, counter allegations etc… (Allotted time: please do this fast! by next month: February: you should be sure of your candidate)
3. Once you are sure of your candidate, convince your household members, drivers, yaya, extended families, friends, etc… I think, our words are more credible and I hope we be relentless in convincing die-hards who are already stuck with an unsuitable candidate.
4. Go out and Vote this May (If you can). And if possible volunteer as a pollwatcher. Calling esp. the IT/computer geeks: please study the automated election well. If you see any prob., you can text/FB/e-mail etc… so we be aware what to watch out for.
5. Please pass this e-mail to all Pinoys out there.
Thank you very much.
May we rise to be a great nation once again.
God bless the Philippines!
Mabuhay!
I have just seen the latest TV ad of Senator Noynoy Aquino and I must say it’s a good one. Here it is from YouTube.
And for those who want to really savor the lines, here they are lovingly transcribed by yours truly.
Minamahal kong kababayan,
Tadhana ang nagbuklod sa atin dahil naghihingalo na ang ating bayan, Nais kong pumasok sa isang kasunduan sa inyo. Lalaban tayo para sa wastong edukasyon ng bawat batang Pilipino. Lalaban tayo para sa abot-kayang serbisyong pangkalusugan. Lalabanan natin ang kahirapan. Lalabanan natin ang mga kawatan. Lalabanan natin ang sino mang wawasak sa kalikasan. Lalabanan natin ang sino mang manggugulo sa ating kapayapaan at katahimikan.
Ang laban natin ay laban ng bayan.
Sa ngalan ng aking mga magulang at sa gabay ng diyos, gagawin ko ang lahat ng aking makakaya na pagsilbihan ang mahal nating Inang Bayan. Bilang tunay na sagot sa kahirapan at tunay na daan sa kaunlaran, ang inyong lingkod Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino the Third, isang mamamayang Pilipino, nangangako sa Diyos at sa Bayan — Hindi ako mag-nanakaw.
Powerful stuff, really.
I have to congratulate the planning and production team behind this ad. You’ve just proven to everyone that it is possible to create a campaign ad that does not involve any dancing or singing and makes use of no overly dramatic images depicting squalor, despair and hope. Additional points as well for not including shots of mindless people carrying torches. Special mention goes to the scriptwriter. You sure can write compelling copy. I sincerely admire you for skillfully filling up a tight running time of one-minute with very powerful words. And, of course, Senator Aquino. You deserve much praise for your unusually impressive delivery and presence here. All in all, you all did a great job and I think this ad deserves an award for brilliant simplicity.
With that said, let’s now put on our serious-voter’s hat.
I think this ad is unprecedented. Here we have a politician coming out with an unequivocal promise that he will not steal. Noynoy may not be the first to come out with such a pronouncement in a TV ad but I’m pretty certain he is the first one to say it in such a simple and direct-to-the-point manner.
Hindi ako mag-nanakaw.
Truly powerful. Unfortunately, there’s a problem and it is this.
Noynoy, Hindi Ka Nag-Iisa.
Yes, indeed, that’s the problem, dear Senator. You really are not alone in laying claim to this anti-corruption branding. The fact is all politicians claim they are against corruption. Even Jun Lozada and Jose de Venecia III. Oh, I forgot, you think you stand out in this aspect because of your Sincerity, Honesty, Integrity and Transparency. Sorry to burst your bubble but that’s all in your head.
Hindi Ka Talaga Nag-Iisa.Pramis.
Speaking of promises. The good senator made really good use of the very limited running time by mouthing off a number of promises all said within the context of that nebulous Aquino concept of Laban.
Again, with our thinking-voter’s hat still on, let’s see if there is any value here. Hmmm. Hmmm.
Sorry, there is none. Want proof? Check out this utakngtilapia.com exclusive interview.
Huh? Laban? Asan? Asan ang laban?
For the truly hopelessly yellow, the message here is that Noynoy’s Laban is clear only to himself. Or maybe not. Sure he may have a general grasp of what Filipinos need but that’s nothing if he can’t even inform us how exactly he will pursue and achieve his promises. Let’s refer back to his campaign ad script.
Lalaban tayo para sa wastong edukasyon ng bawat batang Pilipino = How exactly?
Lalaban tayo para sa abot-kayang serbisyong pangkalusugan = How exactly?
Lalabanan natin ang kahirapan = How exactly?
Lalabanan natin ang mga kawatan = How exactly?
Lalabanan natin ang sino mang wawasak sa kalikasan = How exactly?
Lalabanan natin ang sino mang manggugulo sa ating kapayapaan at katahimikan = How exactly?
So you see dear reader, not even this potentially award-winning ad can erase the sad fact that to this day Senator Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III has failed to properly communicate to us the substance of his candidacy. You’ve probably heard about his failure to attend the forum organized by the Carlos P. Romulo Foundation. I don’t know but it seems to me this is becoming a habit for Noynoy. Not good.
By the way, I realize that Noynoy may actually be telling us the truth when he said, “Hindi ako mag-nanakaw.” Who knows maybe he does have the will to actually keep himself clean while in office. The question is what about the people around him? Does he have the ability or guts to stand up to sycophants, influence peddlers and their mothers?
We’ll look into that later. In the meantime, here’s something for those who need to rid themselves of the hypnotic effect of Noynoy’s latest campaign ad.
(note: Writing about the (mis)adventures of Noynoy is getting tiresome. Unfortunately, someone has to do it since Noynoy’s handlers and supporters are not inclined to push their idol to do better.)
The sycophants have all come out of the woodwork. And, they’re not shy.
Before we go any further let’s agree first on what a sycophant is. Wiktionary gives us the following definitions:
In case you haven’t noticed, a number of mainstream political pundits have now established themselves as promoters and defenders of Senator Noynoy Aquino. I think some of them sincerely believe Noynoy is the one. It’s either that or they’re just Yellow Fever junkies. Anyway, this post is not about them. This is about those pro-Noynoy pundits who pretend to do what they do out of conviction when in reality they’re just doing it for their own personal gain. Di bale nang mailigaw nila ng landas ang ibang tao.
Yes, magalit na ang magagalit, but there is no more denying the fact that a number of these media commentators are advancing the pro-Noynoy propaganda because they hope to be rewarded should the senator win the election. For all we know they’re already being compensated for their publicity work by way of retainer fees.
I am no idealist. I can accept the fact that this is just the way of the world. Altruism just doesn’t pay as much as opportunism. I am also not blind to the fact that the other candidates also have their own stable of media insiders.
So, why am I zeroing in on the sycophantic pro-Noynoy pundits? Just one reason. I hate their hypocrisy.
They talk about Noynoy being the best candidate because of his “honesty” as if it is a fact. One of them even made a real effort to play down the importance of competence, saying trustworthiness is all that is needed. Are you on drugs, Mr. Pundit? We’re talking about the presidency here and you’re saying whoever will take the post need not be competent? The same commentator also had the kapalmuks to claim that of all the candidates Noynoy had the solution to one of this country’s biggest problems. Really? By the way, he said that while at the same time acknowledging that the Yellow One hasn’t been talking about his solution that much. So, how did you know Noynoy had a solution to begin with, sir?
What’s hypocritical about these mainstream pundits is the fact that, while they’re talking about Noynoy’s imagined virtues, they are actually gearing up to take advantage. Yes, magalit na ang magagalit. As I mentioned above, some of these mainstream commentators may already be receiving retainer fees. That’s nothing. That’s small change. What these opportunists are really after are the juicy appointments to this and that office. Aba, ma-appoint ka lang sa board of directors ng ilang government-controlled corporations sarap na ng buhay mo. Pang-oportunista talaga.
I have actually made a list of all these despicable political pundits in mainstream media. I’ve grouped them in terms of who their known and likely candidates are. I will refer to this list after the new president’s first 100 days in office to check who among these kapalmuks got appointed. I’m betting the pundit who said competence is not important will be one of Noynoy’s appointed officials.
Now, this may all seem like one big rant to you. Partly it is. In any case, I do have a point to make and it is this: If you really want to vote wisely this coming May, start by being more critical of each and every piece of information you encounter. Don’t be a fool and don’t just accept each and every propaganda out there. Think for yourself. Don’t let these highly-motivated agents of dumb decide for you.
With the elections just a few months away, some attention is now being given to the Comelec’s Poll Automation system. Judging from the press it’s been getting, the project is still on rather shaky ground perception-wise. The commission will have to step up its information campaign if only to ensure that the public will have sufficient understanding of the system.
One of the problems I am seeing right now with regard to automation is a lack of clarity on what it can and cannot do. This has already led to the misconception that the project in its present form will plug all exploitable loopholes. The way I see it poll automation will not guarantee that all manner of cheating would be prevented.
I seriously doubt though that cheating by way of hacking is the biggest threat. Over at www.botomoto.com there is a post about why this will not be the case. Here’s an excerpt:
Gregorio pointed out that a differentiation has to be made between the election websites and the automated election system that will be implemented.
The automated election system is protected by multiple layers of security and it will be online only during the transmission of electoral results from the 82,000 precincts. Hacking the results of just one precinct, because of its 128 bit encryption system, will take 50 years to decode. Hacking into the central servers is virtually impossible and the servers cannot be fed hacked data as it only accepts data from specific PCOS machines.
The botomoto post also pointed out that the recent hacking of government websites may be connected to an allegedly new scheme by some unscrupulous groups to squeeze money out of this year’s election contenders. You can read the post here.
In my opinion what the Comelec and the voting public should watch out for are the “offline” cheating methods such as vote-buying. From what I’ve been hearing in coffee shop and barbershop discussions, vote-buying is no longer about securing votes for a candidate but eliminating opposing votes. According to some, what election operators do is identify known supporters of opposing candidates. They then offer some form of payment to those voters in exchange for their non-appearance at the precincts on election day. If this were true, I guess we can safely assume that some form of intimidation is also involved.
If this is really how it goes down then obviously even if the automated system is 100% perfect it will have no bearing whatsoever on this alleged modus operandi. The same goes for the possible hacking of the Comelec’s website or any other election website. The website is one system and poll automation is another. Now as far as the automated system is concerned, Smartmatic has this to say (lifted from the botomoto post):
The automated polling system is virtually unhackable and there are multiple layers of assuring that the votes cast nationwide will be counted accurately,” said Gregorio.
I just hope the Comelec will get its act together and iron out all the kinks. This poll automation project is a good way of effecting some form of change in our electoral process.
Here’s a photo being circulated through Twitter. It shows Senator Noynoy Aquino with some students who appear to be supporters of Senator Manny Villar. (Funny how people’s political affiliations are now all color coded.)
Well, as can be expected Noynoy’s followers are jumping on the opportunity to turn this into another viral crap.
Good thing there are still those who can see through the spin.
Come to think of it maybe this picture is really about Noynoy crossing over to the Villar camp.
Senator Manny Villar is making a big deal out of his much-vaunted humble beginnings. Through his latest campaign jingle, this country’s wealthiest lawmaker hopes to cement his hold on the pro-poor branding. Check out the lyrics of that jingle.
Naging Mahirap
Nakaligo ka na ba sa dagat ng basura?
Nag-Pasko ka na ba sa gitna ng kalsada?
Yan ang tanong namin,
Tunay ka bang isa sa amin?
Nalaman mo na bang mapapag-aral ka nya?
Tutulungan tayo para magka-trabaho?
At kanyang plano’y magka-bahay tayo?
Si Villar ang tunay na mahirap.
si Villar ang tunay na may malasakit.
Si Villar ang may kakayahan
At gumawa ng sariling pangalan.
Si Manny Villar ang magtatapos
ng ating kahirapan.
Obviously, the message being imparted here is that Villar knows how to solve poverty because he himself was once poor. But, there’s an even bigger message here that many people probably missed. Villar and his handlers obviously think voters are so stupid they’d actually believe this crap.
Think about it. Does his being a poorboy once upon a time really make Villar the most knowledgeable and most qualified to take on the task of addressing poverty? I don’t think so. Would it even matter that he was once poor? Maybe. Is Villar really pro-poor? Your guess is as good as mine.
I appreciate Villar’s Sipag at Tiyaga slogan. It’s a good message to impart since it basically reminds us that we need to take action and persist if we want to rise above our circumstances. This is precisely why I find it odd that Villar also perpetuates victim mentality. Watch this TV ad titled Sama sa Masa. Pay attention to the line of the elderly woman identified as Araceli Pena.
Kasi pinalad sila maging anak mayaman.
Sounds to me like an excuse. Now, imagine that kind of message taking root among those who saw that ad. I’m sure not a few people said to themselves, “Oo nga. Mayaman kasi sila.” Is that the kind of thinking that would help poor people get themselves out of poverty?
Villar and anyone else who plans to run on a pro-poor agenda should be careful with the messages they impart especially the subliminal ones. They should make sure to promote a winner’s mindset because that is what the poor should strive to have. It would also be good if they refrained from depicting themselves as saviors of the poor long before it becomes fact.
The good senator should also stop reinforcing the misconception that the poor will only get out of poverty by voting formerly-poor-but-now-fantastically-wealthy people into office. That is so trapo. Of course, he should also make sure to mean it when he claims he is pro-poor. Otherwise, he’ll just prove to everyone that he really is trapo.
Is this a horse race or a Presidential election? Are we betting on a cockfight or are we looking for a leader? Are we herded into some popularity contest instead of deciding the course that our country will take in the next six years?
Manny Villar catches up to Noynoy Aquino in SWS survey
These were the thoughts that ran through my mind after reading in Inquirer dot Net’s breaking news that Presidential candidate Manny Villar had narrowed down Noynoy Aquino’s lead in a Social Weather Station survey.
Here’s an excerpt from that report:
Villar cut Aquino’s lead by eight points – from 19 to 11 percentage points, said the survey sought by San Juan representative Ronaldo Zamora, and conducted from December 27 to 28.
Of the 2, 100 respondents asked by the SWS in Filipino as to who on its list would they most likely vote for if elections were held today, 44 percent said they would go for Aquino while 33 percent for Villar.
Fifteen percent of the respondents chose former president Joseph Estrada while five percent for administration candidate Gilbert Teodoro, the survey said.
Television evangelist Eddie Villanueva came next with one percent, Senator Richard Gordon with 0.5 percent, and Senator Ana Consuelo “Jamby” Madrigal and independent John Carlos de los Reyes tied with 0.4 percent.
I subscribe to the idea that the publication of surveys that shout who is in the lead of one survey or another basically serves a propaganda for the leader in that survey. It says that the leader of the survey is the one who is most likely to win in the electoral contest and this endows the survey leader with the advantage of a winnable image.
For the second most popular, the advantage of publishing a story that says he is catching up on the survey leader casts the electoral contest as a two way fight. The other candidates in the electoral contests are cast as also-rans, even before the race is actually run on May 2010.
Moreover, I think that this propaganda of winnability in the form of claiming the lead in certain surveys has an effect on people. It is a form of mental conditioning that puts blinders on the eyes of the voting public, brainwashing them into believing that the only choices they have are those that lead in the surveys.
Together with the fact that the Comelec makes little or no effort at all at leveling the playing field for all contenders in terms of campaign spending and the amount of political ads a candidate can put out — even before the start of the official campaign period, this creates a situation where in the only candidates that will be present in people’s mind are those that land on front pages because of surveys and those who can have their faces in media 24/7.
If Noynoy Aquino and Manuel Villar are the only names most people get exposed to most of the time, then it becomes most likely that people will think that these are the only contenders in the electoral contest.
On Twitter, there was an exchange between @momblogger (Noemi Dado, blogwatch) and pre-eminent blogger @mlq3 (Manuel Quezon III). In that exchange, @mlq3 said this, apparently, in response to Noemi’s queries on whether surveys influence a voter’s decision:
@momblogger afaik only about 3% of voters decide on candidates on the basis of surveys
Following the shortlink posted by @mlq3, I landed on a matrix showing the result of the Institute of Philippine Culture’s study on “Sources of Influence on voting decision.”
@mlq3 points to the result of a study saying that surveys influence only 3 percent of voters
This tends to go against my position that surveys influence people into voting for the leader in that survey.
That is, until you consider that surveys are published in the media and this forms part of the propaganda put out by the candidate, raising even further awareness for the survey leader.
But regardless of whether or not surveys do or do not influence how people vote, what is clear to me is that electing a leader means choosing the person with the best qualifications for a position and that involves examining a candidate’s worthiness based on a criteria. Of course, the criteria by itself will not do you any good unless you get to know as much as you can about the other candidates.
If you want to go through various criteria for choosing a President or any candidate, you can go over to @momblogger’s blog.
Filo on Bastos! Noynoy is The Debate Chicken.
Takot lang niyan maka-debate si Gordon or Gibo nang one-on-one.
Kahit kay Villar siguro olats yan kung ...
bp on Gut Feel All Over Again pilipinopoako,
i'm no fan of manny villar, but i don't think there's anything shocking about the possibility that villar used himself ...
Barb on Ban On Cellphone Use While Driving Here's another house bill from Mr. Tieng...
http://www.topgear.com.ph/news/bill-seeks-mall-owners-liability-for-damages-on-parked-cars
The old notion that digital content does not reach the masses is no longer that clear-cut. This is an important thing to note in our campaign to find progressive alternatives to Big Media as a setter of trends and an originator of ideas in our chronically backward society. For it is not so much the poor masses as those who wield influence via their means to […]
Heto ang gustong magiging presidente ng Pilipinas? Tamad na sa Senado, sa kampanya, tamad pa rin. Hindi lang tamad, pabago-bago ang isip, flip-flopping comments, making promises that he can’t keep – Ambot sa langaw, pila’y edad sa uk-ok (literally: ewan ko sa langaw, kung ilang taon na ang ipis), matud pa (ika nga) – Go [...] […]
I originally posted this yesterday at AntiPinoy, and I figured it never hurts to give it a chance to get a few more eyes on it, so it's copied here. But do your mind a favor and visit AntiPinoy, too; there are a lot of sharp minds at work there, not only among the authors but in the comments as well (although to be strictly accurate, for every intellige […]
Yeahha…Thought I’ll put this here. Away from AP. As BenK puts it You know you are starting to make a difference when you really start pissing people off, it just goes with the territory. There is no available legal recourse for her to do anything, if she wants to make a complete fool of herself in Federal [...] […]
Come over to my new blog, www.manilareview.wordpress.com [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]] […]
Heto ang gustong magiging presidente ng Pilipinas? Tamad na sa Senado, sa kampanya, tamad pa rin. Hindi lang tamad, pabago-bago ang isip, flip-flopping comments, making promises that he can’t keep – Ambot sa langaw, pila’y edad sa uk-ok (literally: ewan ko sa langaw, kung ilang taon na ang ipis), matud pa (ika nga) – Go [...] […]
Yesterday, Sentro's Arnel and Iya discussed corrupt practices that ordinary Pinoys engage in. Sometimes, everyone is hell bent on cursing corruption in high places while we disregard those that we ourselves regularly do. If we want real change, the challenge is that we must all change. Moreso, the smallest corruption we all engage in when put together a […]
Santino is the star of the ABS-CBN program "May Bukas Pa". He's based on San Marcelino Pan y Vino. He is a "miracle boy" who regularly speaks with Jesus Christ and creates miracles for people. It becomes such that the people want to steal him and make him slave away to make miracles at their bidding. It's a typical "miracle […]
People always say: Too much of anything is bad. I’ve always thought that all this fanaticism towards the late Ninoy is going way overboard not to mention, exaggerated. This way of thinking has probably got to do with the fact that unless a person delivered results, I will not see him as someone who has [...] […]
ALL HELL BREAKS LOOSE: Blackout during Pacquiao fight THE PHILIPPINES IS IN A STAND STILL. Filipinos fear a television blackout as they gather to watch local hero Manny Pacquiao defend his world welterweight title on Sunday and the fraying national power grid feels the strain. The National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) acknowledged that the elec […]
French Virologist Luc Montagnier is credited with having co-discovered the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) and was co-recepient of the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine in 2008. In an uncut interview for the documentary House of Numbers, Dr. Montagnier shares some insights that may surprise those with common knowledge of HIV and AIDS. My main takeawa […]
At the end of the day, crooks go to jail or at the very least resign from their positions – in Japan and the US. The Philippines is a different story. […]
The country’s fightingest senator says that she has been doing poorly on pre-election surveys because people might look for her on the ballot under ‘Santiago’ instead of her preferred ‘Defensor-Santiago.’ Wailing at the violence inherent in the (patriarchal) system, Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago called on the Commission on Elections as well as on other w […]
The hopelessly paranoid are at it again spinning tales of conspiracies. Their latest (though not necessarily new) speculative scenario of doom is about the alleged plot to keep President Gloria Arroyo in power. Here's an excerpt from abante-tonite.com report: Lumutang na umano ang tatlong senyales para magkaroon ng failure of election sa Mayo 10 at ma […]
I was in elementary school when I first heard of Michael Jackson. His hit songs "Thriller", "Beat It" and "Billie Jean" were enjoying heavy airplay at that time. I wasn't into music back then so I didn't really pay much attention to those songs. I did, however, enjoy watching other kids my age copying Michael's da […]
