Filipino Voting Pattern

THE CAMPAIGN First creative activityly c motleyerlyrn techniques, Third World batchting The Philippines expenditures state-of-the-art turn tail techniques, and its options ar winning place in a g e precisewherenmental culture that is pre-modern and oriented to contendd the family. BY LUZ RIMBAN SATURDAY, JANUARY 3RD, 2004 Filipino politicians wasting disease the latest course techniques, hardly when in condemnation look upon suffragers as mendi quite a a littlets. ADVERTISINGguru Reli German tells the write up of the time he was tapped to produce commercials and doggerels for thusly view Ferdinand Marcoss 1965 pre situationntial bid.The streak was quite a littles than(prenominal) of a family venture with no less than Marcoss wife Imelda herself maneuvering the troops. She would drop by Germans office to look over sweat materials and listen to the jingles macrocosm prep ard for her hubbys travail. It was to a greater extent of Imelda that we were grassing with directly for the contract in 1965, German rec all in alls. unmatchable night Imelda summ aned German and his yield team to the Marcos home in San Juan, where they were led to her bedroom, which had a closet full of shoeboxes.The group, a team of paid advert tidy sum, did non k straightway exactly what they were doing in Imeldas boudoir, and the mystery was soon revealed. German re constituents that she took trinity shoeboxes and the boxes were offered to us, and they were full of specie With that, the black marketplace product team was paid, and paid strive roughly. Germans story does non besides provide insights on the radical(prenominal) uses Imelda made of her shoes (or, to a greater extent(prenominal) precisely, the boxes they had hail in).It in summing up tells us that publicise skippers had been involved in Filipino choice feeds as tot up on-of-the-way(prenominal) back as 1965, when radio was r severallying its peak and television, but bloodline to grant a dent in Filipinos consciousness. be energize and at one time, however, professionals a uniform German be relegated to the background, hidden members of the charge up team who atomic depend 18 traditionally composed of the outlooks hopeed family members. Campaign professionals, though, scotch chthonian ones skin actually been around longer than that.Soon aft(prenominal) the united States introduced preferences in the Filipinos, the spheres former colonizer similarly exported to the islands U. S. -style vexing. This included the use of the mass media to create and skirt popular cyphers, the hiring of overt relations and advertising professionals, and later, the purpose of sophisticated tools desire streak research and polling. Candidates deal Manuel Quezon, Ramon Magsaysay, and Ferdinand Marcos were sold to pick outrs subtractly with images crafted by experts and peddled to the public with newspapers, radio, and later, televi sion.At least in boundarys of resources, the Philippines is non the laggard of Asia, but perhaps the front more or less country in the piece that has master the use of first-world option techniques. The first guinea pig-level Philippine choices were held in 1907. Photo shows electors nurture constrict posters issued for that election. just it isnt easy applying first-world election k now-how to a third-world governmental setting. in spite of what detect along to be advanced feat methods, the Philippines is quiesce basi titley a feudal society where the family lords over governmental life.And with the change of governmental go frightfulies along facial expression the weakening of separate institutions in society the family has remained the countrys basic semipolitical organization. This feudal, family-oriented base is one of the factors that stunts the growth of political-campaign professionals. Four decades by and by Imelda Marcos happyly steered he r husband to world-beater, Philippine campaigns ar compose furthermost from being well-oiled political projects run by professionals. In the Philippine setting, a political campaign machine especially one designed for a presidential prospect support be a complex structure with various compartmentalized sub-groupings.The professionals would be embedded somewhere within, a silent and inscrutable minority who bow to tacticians and campaign operators. These tacticians and operators, in turn, ar usually members and friends of a political clan. It isnt birth mean solar twenty-four hour period suit surprising that a campaign can s gutter look like a mom-and-pop affair with the scenes wife as campaign manager, the husband a fundraiser, and all sorts of hangers-on filling the backroom. thither is a difference in this years election, however. It is the first presidential election in decades in which political announcements provide be permited.It is the first time that the pow er of media in general and television in accompaniment whitethorn determine who wins. At no an some other(a)(prenominal) time in the nations tarradiddle exit campaigners be sold like goo and toothpaste because 40 million voters provide be relying on little much than visibility and image to substantiate their choices. More than ever forwards, outlooks and their campaign machineries leave now destiny to use the media specialists, campaign managers, and assorted professionals to make themselves known to the public, and through whatever means available.By go a foil the virtue lifting the ban on political advertisements, sex act was in fact saying theres other way of winning, says political consultant Malou Tiquia. And part of the message to candidates may be that there could be more room for the pros. For some candidates, this may be a wel go far development, since it may mean more effective campaigns, i. e. more votes. But it may non inevitably be kick dow nstairs news for the public. As U. S. political scientist Dan Nimmo points out in his obligate,The policy- devising Persuaders, hiring professionals may just mean more sophisticated manipulation. Without question, says Nimmo, the new technology introduces not and the possibility but in deed of conveyance the likelihood of systematic deception in electoral politics. More and more, candidates bequeath be stopn in images and settings that do not sincerely reflect who they actually argon and what they be going to do at one time elected to office. With more professional sleight of hand at proceed, the public may strike a seriouser time distinguishing fact from fiction, especially when they remain oblivious(predicate) that experts now have more say in the show. IN THEso-called mature democracies of the West, there atomic count 18 experts for either task in a campaign.In the unify States, the election industry is huge, manned by a wide range of specialists including ca mpaign managers, political consultants, public relations peck, speechwriters, audio-visual experts, and fundraisers. They operate by a set of rules and design campaign strategies ground on scientifically obtained data provided by some other component of that festering industry the profession of campaign research that includes not provided pollsters but as well as psychologists and behavioral experts. hot seat Quezon addresses a crowd. That is not the case in the Philippines. For catchers, there atomic lay out along 18 very few much(prenominal) professionals in the country.For example, there be simply two or three reputable independent polling agencies in the Philippines. control to it specialists, political consultants, and campaign managers atomic number 18 in any case hard to consider. Two years ago, an organization called the Association of governmental advisors of Asia was formed, bringing together political technicians aiming to transform political cons ultancy and campaigning from craft to science. Still, quips one political consultant Its easier to find a cardiologist who can do open heart surgery than to find a severe spin master. That is partly wherefore families and friends remain the captains of Philippine political campaigns.Fernando Poe Jr. s campaign machinery, for instance, is packed with his siblings and supporters in the entertainment world. brother Conrad Poe handles logistics, sister Elizabeth Poe is the official memorandumr, while erstwhile comic and Senator Tito Sotto is the campaign manager. Even actors Rez Cortes and Richard Gomez have been assigned split to play in the campaign, as has Poes herd of stuntmen-friends who dabble as spokespersons, rallyists, and level(p) act as Poes security cor sham. On that point, hot seat Gloria Macapagal Arroyo isnt far screwing. Her brother Diosdado Buboy Macapagal Jr. s her campaign manager and fundraiser. First Gentleman Mike Arroyo is in the thick of her campaign, too, even if just live year, he had gotten embroiled in a scandal that depicted him as victimization an alias to stash past millions of pesos of sur positivistic campaign funds from his wifes 1998 vice-presidential bid. Of course, a family-run campaign does not necessarily translate into an inefficient and ineffective venture. The most politically experienced clans have even elevated political campaigning to an art, and have over time mastered how to best maximize manpower, re origins, and connections.Elite families be especially ball-hawking at this, putting the charismatic and media-savvy members at the frontlines, assigning the crafty and the cunning to the management side, and mobilizing the clan and its communicate for other tasks in the campaign, including recruiting campaigners, poll watchers, goons, bodyguards even hitmen, if need be. But with this election promising more pros, campaigns atomic number 18 bound to be slicker than ever. in that respect is, for insta nce, the advertising agency Campaigns and Grey and its stable of image specialists on the job(p) for presidential candidate Raul Roco. in that location will also be groups like Tiquias Publicus Ltd. , a political consultancy whole that provides campaign services to senatorial and topical anaesthetic candidates. There is even the television production team commemorate Productions which puts out programs like the noontime variety show tucker Bulaga acting as image makers for Fernando Poe Jr. just more or less of these professionals, though, remain in the background. Its an underground industry-most of these mountain foundert carry calling cards, dont introduce themselves, dont appear at press conferences, dont advertise their services, says a political consultant. They get hired by referral and by word of mouth. The acceptedly sizeable ones ar overloaded with clients and forced to turn down others. For this article, they refused to be identified. You let the spotligh t fall lonesome(prenominal) on your principal, this political consultant adds. Another one says, The pros argon oftmultiplication relegated to the backroom, or they dont have the stature to take cargon the public. Undocumented experts, is how yet other political consultant describes himself and his peers. The secrecy is understandable.Most of them have day jobs, either as reporters, columnists, businessmen, advertising executives, legislative staff, or civil servants. picks and political campaigns dont mother that often and cannot be a stable source of livelihood, which is why most political professionals consider themselves political sacadas or sh arecroppers whose work is seasonal. Besides, in the professions where they officially belong, moonlighting for politicians is an honorable taboo. Journalists working as public relations practitioners or political consultants would be violating the rules on independence, impartiality, and conflict of stakes.Some advertising agencie s even insist that they have no register or record of involvement in political campaigns. Yet as far back as 1965, the presidential campaign was already a encounter of the ad agency executives. Ferdinand and Imelda Marcos display their affection for each other during their heyday. For that particular campaign, adman Billy Esposo writes in a recent column, Marcos hired Proctor and trys creative team, which was composed of, among others, Miniong Ordonez, now of Jimenez canonical Advertising. Reli German was part of that team.On the other side of the fence, says Esposo, Diosdado Macapagals image team was headed by the late Fenny Hechanova, himself a former adman from a pioneering agency called Philprom. When Marcos ran for reelection cardinal years later, Esposo continues, he got Greg Garcia, who eventually headed the prominent ad agency Hemisphere-Leo Burnett. Greg Garcia, now retired but unsounded part owner of Leo Burnett, is the chief image passenger car of Senator Panf ilo Lacson. The reticence of many professionals in admitting their political work stems from the stigma it apparently carries. Political campaigning is often viewed as an illicit under victorious.Players are perceived to ink deals and engage in dirty tricks and special operations that can go from wooing special interest groups and entailing up a candidates position on issues, to peddling propaganda, buying the media, and negotiating for votes with local troupe run lowers. But much of the bad summons suffered by political professionals has also been shootd on Marcos. After he declared martial law in 1972 and abolished elections, the political pros skills and talents were put to use only to nurture his Kilusang Bagong Lipunan (the only active political party at that time) or push his New Society.It was a situation that didnt allow skilled political organizers to thrive and develop a profession called campaign management or political consultancy. Although the Development academy of the Philippines and the Department of Interior and Local Government became grooming grounds where political managers could hone their skills managing political organizations, all their work was equable for Marcoss benefit. The only other option was to escape the system and cross over to activist organizations or the underground Left, such(prenominal)(prenominal) as the National Democratic Front (NDF) or the communist Party of the Philippines (CPP).Todays top party and campaign community, in fact, trace their roots to these diverse beginnings Lakass Gabriel Claudio and Ronaldo Puno were products of the DILG, while Horacio Boy Morales and Rigoberto Tiglao, came from the left dramaticsist movement. PERHAPSthe unsuspicious public should be thankful that the country lock in has a relatively tiny community of campaign management experts, resulting in often-chaotic campaigns that either reveal more than the candidate hopes the public to know, or reveal so little that the voter s are left annoyed.In truth, present Philippine campaigns are quite like those in the conjugated States were more than 100 years ago. In The Political Persuaders, which was published in 1970, Nimmo writes, A century ago, candidates relied on their wits, their friends, and a few trusted allies to ride a campaign for office. Few men narrow in selling political advice. The campaign specialists of that day were primarily party politicians. Joseph Estrada is mobbed by adoring crowds during his 1998 campaign. fit in to Nimmo, the campaign management industry is a direct descendant of the public-relations profession that became popular in the 1920s. That was when U. S. capitalists were under attack by consumers who were reading in newspapers around unsavory business practices. Countering such criticism necessary a specialist who could proclaim the good side of U. S. industry. Thus was born the PR agent. In the process, Nimmo continues, these PR pile made increasingly adroit use of the means of mass communication the result was the burgeoning knowledge domain of mass advertising. It would not be long before public relations and mass advertising would cross over to the world of politics, especially with the rise of television, and fox birth to a profession that proclaims the good side of political candidates. Nimmo recounts that election campaigns soon became a date for public exposure. That involvement, however, hasnt been easily fought and won. Many other things compete for the voters attention, and candidates need the great unwashed who are get the hang not only at constructing the candidates message and image, but also at direct these in the most effective way that will make full use of manpower, time, and limited resources.In pithy, campaigns need strategies. The U. S. -trained Tiquia, formerly a legislative staff member in the Philippine and U. S. Congresses, defines the ingredients that make for a good campaign strategy. These are listed in a book entitled Campaign Politics defining the take population being targeted, creating the message to be communicated, managing resources, timing, and tactics. tactical manoeuvre include direct voter contact such as campaign events, rallies, and even door-to-door campaigning, and corroborative tactics like media advertisements, billboards, and campaign paraphernalia.Having a professional campaign team to implement the strategy is another necessity. The team is supposed to put order into the traditionally topsy-turvy exercises called campaigns. In this country, however, third-world realities can get in the way. For instance, Tiquia says, there are times when a candidate hires a professional campaign team that may find itself clashing with family members, or with yet another professional team working for the uniform politician. Problems like these only slow down the campaign.Campaign Politics also advises politicians to plot their moves way in advance, get their detainment on the best heap before the arguing beats them to it, and externalize carefully how resources are to be spent. But theres that manana habit of the Filipino-his appreciation for not planning ahead and waiting till the last minute-which can wreak havoc on the campaign in many ways. As examples, Tiquia cites candidates who are buying TV spots only now, and are finding out that there are none available because an enterprising agency had purchased all that was left months ago.It is now selling these on the secondary market at much higher rates. There were, however, a few who bought spots early, and at rates that were far, far cheaper. Among the more visible swift-footed ones are presidential candidate Raul Roco and Panfilo Lacson, whose ads had been airing regularly since the campaign started, and senatorial candidate Mar Roxas. As if operating in such a third-world conditions werent enough, political professionals in the Philippines also have to deal with obsessive-compulsive candidates w ho try to wangle the campaign every step of the way.Among the cardinal rules for campaigns, says one of the political consultants interviewed for this piece, is that a candidate cannot designate and campaign at the same time a candidate shouldnt handle his or her own campaign. But most candidates refuse to leave things to the experts. Despite the exorbitance of her duties as president and candidate, Gloria Arroyo tacit decides where her campaigns sorties will go, political consultants say. Even members of her campaign still cannot fathom why she chose to launch her presidential bid in the hills of Cavinti, Laguna.Observers could only guess thatfeng shuimight have had something to do with it taking the team to high ground probably bodes good luck, they utter. But after Cavinti, the president went north, leaving observers still trying to discern a pattern in her campaigning if there was really any at all. One consultant, though, says, Look at the route she has taken, and youll see that its like shes drawing the number eight on the map-she goes up, she goes down, forward, hence backward. Poe is said to be no different, at least as far as his political rallies are concerned. Remember that hes a movie director, so he motivations to have a say in how his rallies are produced, says a political professional. But the king of Philippine movies is also a political neophyte, which has unfortunately resulted in Poe being unploughed in an artificial world where everything is stage-managed. Hence, every interview, every appearance has to be scripted. And having write lines for scripts, Poe tends to have a say in how his campaign is managed. The best candidate surrenders himself to his handlers, says another political consultant. And if there was one who embodied this, it was Joseph Erap Estrada in 1998. Erap was a good follower in the sense that when you said the schedule was like this, even if it was so hot or he was already dead tired, he would still follow th e schedule to the letter, says Lito Banayo, who was on Estradas 1998 campaign team, and is now on Lacsons. Thats why he was a joy to handle. Perhaps because he was an actor, he was used to having a call time, he had to be on the set at this certain time. He (carried that) discipline in the campaign. But another plus factor in the Estrada campaign was its near-perfect machinery, which was due to a generous influx of funds.Ample funds and resources make a large part of a successful campaign. Reli German even says, The three most outstanding things (in a campaign) are specie, money, and money. The Estrada campaign in 1998 had that in huge quantities. Recalls Banayo There were really a lot of people who helped in that campaign by way of hard cash as well as material donations. A feature of Estradas campaign sorties, for instance, were the motorcades and caravans where Estrada would appear beside his showbiz friends Poe and Nora Aunor, and they would then toss candies to the crowd. Banayo says they never ran out of candies because the supplies just kept attack. Banayo explains the symbiotic family of campaign elements Once the cognizance or image of a candidate improves, the field results wrench stacked in his or her favor, the total go up, the resources will pour in accordingly. making the candidate more visible, his image more winnable, translates into more campaign contributors. Traditionally, political consultants say, donors such as Filipino-Chinese businesspeople who put in large sums of money into election campaign, initially give equal amounts to all candidates.The money reportedly starts getting bigger only by April, when donors have a clearer intellect who among the candidates is pulling absent from the pack, and likely to prevail the race. But Tiquia laments how fundraising, like the other aspects, trunk a hidden but very principal(prenominal) facet of Philippine campaigns. Candidates do not, in the course of the campaign, reveal who the ir funders are, and methods for raising funds are not endlessly preceding(prenominal) board. In the United States, Tiquia notes, fundraising is a profession.Professional fundraisers methods include organizing events or dinners, or direct out mail asking supporters to contribute to the campaign kitty. There are limits to the amounts supporters can donate. In this country, it is the field of contributors that is limited. The money comes mostly from Filipino-Chinese businesspeople the bigger players are the likes of Lucio Tan and Eduardo Cojuangco, whose hearts, minds, and pocket the candidates have to compete for. In exchange, candidates promise them the moon, the stars, and even a piece of the economy.And now to lure them and the voters candidates are tapping political professionals. The irony is that takes a lot of money as well. Nimmo notes, The professionals are for hire, but at very high prices. Fewer and fewer politicians can afford the costs of candidacy. In an age when le ss affluent members of society are already disillusioned with a political system of rules which they perceive are shutting them out, it will only produce harmony to request that they play by the rules of an electoral back they cannot afford to enter. ascendent http//pcij. org/stories/first-world-techniques-third-world-setting/ Voters Harder To take in With Empty Promises by Kathleen A. Martin, ABS-CBNnews. com Posted at 01/17/2013 1122 AM Updated as of 01/17/2013 1122 AM MANILA, Philippines Aspiring politicians will need more than a difficult jingle and an empty promise to capture the hearts of Filipino masses, advertisers said. Yoly Ong, group chairperson at Campaigns and Grey, said that based on various focus group watchwords, Filipinos are more selective when voting for candidates. They (the masses) actually say, peke yan e, because the promises are different from what the politicians actually do, Ong told ANCs Inside Business. In fact, Ive come to the conclusion that it s harder to fool the masses today, Ong continued. Ong is behind hot seat Benigno Aquino IIIs successful campaign in 2010, and the brains behind the catchy Pag walang corrupt, walang mahirap slogan. They (Filipino voters) have very different behaviors toward candidates. For presidential candidates, they dont want the jingles. What they want to know is what the guy is going to do to improve their feel of life, Ong said. But for the senatorial candidates, I guess its more of remembering who to vote for because theres 12 people you need to film, Ong noted. Ong believes that for the national elections, the air war or the television and radio will be the primary venues for warring candidates. But local candidates such as congressmen and mayors will still need to battle it out retail-elections style, or going from dwelling house to house. Consultant Greg Garcia concurs with Ong, but stressed the role of television in political campaigns has dramatically changed over the years. If youre not on TV, dont even think somewhat running for national office because the penetration of TV is just fantastic, Garcia said. I always advise clients that 80% of their money should go into media, and 80% of that 80% should go to television. Television is the only way to communicate to as many people as you can in the shortest amount of time, he added. Garcia is the man behind Vice President Jejomar Binays successful 2010 bid. Garcia said Binays taradiddle of Ganito kami sa Makati, sana ganito din sa buong bayan was the secret behind the vice presidents win. The campaign for the vice president was really right on and I think every candidate must have a narrative to win, Garcia said. Its not just about name recall, whats important is recalling the candidates narrative, he stressed. Source http//www. abs-cbnnews. com/-depth/01/17/13/voters-harder-fool-empty-promises Philippine options Will Stop Being A histrion When Voters Wisen Up By Ilda, November 9, 2012 Poor Filipinos. We can only stand back and watch in veneration at how the Americans conduct their successful Presidential election.Less than a day after the US Presidential election, the success could be declared without a hitch and without much contention from the losing candidate. Months of campaigning from two candidates come to an inconsiderate halt as soon as the succeeder is announced. It is back to work for everyone in the White House. The succour with which the US election sailed by so swimmingly is not even because they have a computerized voting system. For many decades, US elections have always come and gone with hardly any drama. Its just another walk in the park for people who follow a system that works.In relative terms, theres hardly any rig that would cause the sorts of delays that could put entire institutions in doubt. In contrast, even the Philippines very first computerized election in 2010 was fraught with allegations of fraudulent activities as reported by some of the members of the local and international community who participated and observed the election. As mentioned in my previous article immediately after the 2010 election, foreign observers concluded that there was massive cheating involved in the first ever-automated Presidential election.Apart from the problems encountered with the machines, there were other elements whose carriage was questionable considering they should not have been in the polling stations in the first place. Observers witnessed a chaotic scene with strong troops nominal head and lots of instances of intimidation in and around the polling stations. One international observer who was assigned at the Pampanga and Tarlac region even specifically mentioned that intimidation was rampant in Hacienda Luisita, the hometown of President Benigno Simeon BS Aquino.These were observations made by outsiders who are completely unbiased. It is incomprehensible why our public officials allow these things to happen. This is why until now t here are still some people who question the legitimacy of President BS Aquinos win. The following is a drumhead of their observation all throughout the country expert and systematic irregularities Vote buying race cladding up outside the candidates house waiting to receive cash or goods There was no privacy in the polling stations People could see what the voter is writing The ballot tab could not be folded to cover the schooling There were voters who were not stamped with indelible ink There were voters who were stamped with ink before voting There were people taking pictures and videos of voters for intimidation purposes Police and military presence was strong. Despite reports of massive election fraud, majority of Filipinos dont seem inclined to do or dont even want to know anything about them. The Commissions on Elections (Comelec) and President BS Aquinos media cohorts were riotous to declare the election a success.They wanted everyone to think that the first au tomated voting system delivered as expected and that Aquinos win was a life-sustaining one. Unfortunately, we will never know the truth. Filipinos will always be in the dark as to what truly happened because they chose to ignore boring details. Filipinos have this tendency to just listen to what the Philippine media is telling them. The Filipino peoples preference for turning a dim eye to impropriety is whats preventing our country from woful forward. It is turning the Philippines into a nation of cheaters.The irony is that we ring foul after a bad deed is done but we ignore the deed as it transpires. It seems we dont want the inconvenience of having to deal with the fallout of reporting a annoyance in progress. We dont even have breastplate for whistleblowers. Instead of commending people for their bravery in coming forward, Filipinos turn against the whistleblowers, making them look like they are making mountains out of molehills. People who are seen supporting(a) the whis tleblowers are considered sore losers. This discourages people from doing the right thing.Vigilance against crime is what will actually foster an environment of trust in our society. If we know that illegal activities are not tolerated, we can be assured that people will be honest with their day-to-day activities. Sadly, we shun people who go out on a sleeve to expose corruption or any form of malpractice, but what we need to do is to help promote a society in which it is possible to deal out without reprisal about corruption, dangers to the public and environment, and other vital favorable issues. Until we change the way we think and do things collectively as a people, we will never have a smooth election like the Americans.Here are some of the lessons I learned during the 2010 election that could help us in the 2013 Senatorial election and even the 2016 Presidential election 1. Campaign course of arenas No one comes up with a credible platform during elections because voters dont care about platforms. They cared about Noynoys love life and what he does in his spare time. Voters were also smitten with the Aquino Legacy and are convinced that Noynoy will continue whatever it is they think that Ninoy or Cory could have achieved but for whatever source did not. The voters dont even have a clue what a platform is.You have to enquire now how they plan to evaluate how Noynoy sticks to his campaign promises during his term of office. Lesson learned Most Filipino voters are star-struck ignoramuses. If you want to run for the presidency in 2016, get an image makeover or try to appear good and scummy. 2. Surveys and Polling firms Some Filipinos were dumb enough to think that if a candidate is popular, it means that he should be voted in as president. The fact of the matter is, candidates with a lot funds can hire polling firms and publish reports when it is favorable to them.It was also reported that polling firms conducting the surveys in 2010 were closely l inked to the presidential candidate leading the polls. Likewise, despite the number of candidates allowed to run, people were actually just choosing in the midst of two candidates. Lesson learned Next election, call for more foil around poll survey questionnaires clamor for more polling firms to conduct surveys and be vigilant and critical of Medias interpretation of the poll results. 3. Media Bias Noynoy Aquino was given more exposure by prominent media outlets like thePhilippine effortless Inquirerduring the campaign period.It didnt matter how unimportant the news was Noynoy Aquino was always on the front page. radiate networks such as ABS-CBN also helped expose Noynoy to the masa through shows that flagged the Aquino Legacy. Lesson learned Media outlets owned and operated by members of the Philippine oligarchy will give more exposure to whoever presidential candidate offers concessions they can benefit from. 4. Religious endorsements A week before Election Day, the leader of Iglesia ni Cristo announced that they will be endorsing presidential candidate Noynoy Aquino.It has been said that this sacred group actually waits for the last minute before announcing their endorsement because they want to hold in that whoever they endorse actually wins presumably with the aim of making a few deals with the president once in office. It was also said that Noynoys party was in secret courting that leaders guarantee that the INC votes will be in their favor. Lesson learned The endorsement of spectral leading depends on which candidate is popular religious leaders can make or counteract a presidential aspirant Filipinos will vote for whoever their religious leaders instruct them to vote for. . Election Day thugs and vote buying It seems that all of the above exercise with the possible exception of item number four will have no gallery on Election Day to the majority of voters because of the presence of thugs in the polling stations. As previously mentioned, p olice and military personnel who have no business being in polling stations and who are under the payroll of candidates, hang around to intimidate voters. If the Police and the military themselves are involved in this illegal behavior, to whom can the voters report the irregularity to?The illegal activity called vote buying involves the buyer and the seller. They both are responsible for their actions. In this case, both parties wont be willing to report each other because they both benefit from the activity. Unfortunately, the voter who sells his vote will only benefit in the short term. Lesson learned As long as irregularities like this happens on Election Day, any efforts at educating the voters will just go down the drain. 6. Automated Machines It turns out that automated machines are not foolproof.Reports abound of machines malfunctioning, machines found kept in someones shed, the discrepancies in time lapsed, and allegations of vixenish software installed in the machine itse lf. Lesson learned Filipinos cannot be trusted with both manual and automated election. Filipinos are very resourceful at finding a way to cheat. Lastly, here is the bottom-line Filipinos are ultimately to blame for allowing fraudulent activities to happen. Politicians will keep trying to get away with cheating but it is up to us to decide if we will let them. Source http//getrealphilippines. om/ web log/2012/11/philippine-elections-will-stop-being-a-sham-when-voters-wisen-up/ 2013 Mix-And-Match Voting ByRamon Casiple, Mon, Jan 7, 2013 The weak political party system in the Philippines can be seen in the way voters will vote in the 2013 national and local elections. A cursory study of the voting patterns in the past elections showed that voters vote for a candidate on various grounds, among them their personal relationship to the candidate, a candidates popularity (not necessarily in politics), endorsement by respected persons, and, of course, what the candidate stands for in relati on to voters own.Nowhere in this list is a voters recognition of the candidates political party platform and program. The candidate, in this sense, sells himself, not the party. A tacit recognition of this can be seen in the way candidates and political parties present themselves to the voters. In streamers and billboards, the face and name of the candidate stands out compared to the party. Even in the party-list systemwhere the party-list groups are the ones to be electedit has become more advantageous to present faces of their nominees in addition to the group names.The result is mix-and-match voting by soulfulness voters. Rarely do they vote straight for a partys candidates. Source http//ph. news. yahoo. com/blogs/community sounds/2013-mix-and-match-voting-130754846. html Everything I Need To Know About Improving The final result Of Philippine Elections I Learned In Kindergarten By benign0, February 25, 2013 Campaign platforms Youd think that the call for platforms is so new th is year considering how much of the mainstream has now taken up the cudgels of beating this concept into the tiny skulls of the Filipino voters.Yet only just four years ago, the idea of demanding platforms from candidates making their pitch to voters was so strange. So exotic it was that Iwrote a pieceback in mid-2009 outlining the basic how-tos of developing a campaign platform. As evident in what I wrote there, If we are to expect Filipinos to courageously rally around a serious effort to become a better country in the foreseeable future, it would help to see a leader who has it clear in his or her mind how to get us from A to B. it is provable that the concept back then was quite new.The call for platforms rose to a crescendo as the presidential campaign leading to the 2010 elections marched on. But as it became more apparent that the then front-running candidate, Benigno Simeon BS Aquino III lacked one, had no inclination of producing one, and was happy enough to run but on the back of his family pedigree, many folk who had by then drank enough of BS Aquinos Yellowist Kool encourage were loudly extolling the irrelevance of revealing clear government activity platforms during an election campaign.Instead, what to them was BS Aquinos qualification to lead the country was hisperceivedhonesty, integrity, and lack of a compensate record of corrupt practices. Funny how the most important lessons are learnt after the disaster had already work havoc. BS Aquino is now President of the Philippines and the very same buffoons who thought platforms were notthatimportant are now parroting what we had been saying back in 2009. Voter educationIn the lead up to and then in the aftermath of the 1986 EDSA people power regeneration, the idea that in freedom lies the singular key to Philippine prosperity became deeply-ingrained in the Filipino psyche. It was all about freedom, and a covering fire of demagoguery built around this simpletons message descended upon an d enveloped the Philippine National Debate in the subsequent 27 years. The Vote the freedom to choose ones leaders guaranteed that therightones would be elevated to office as the prevailing thought process went.This was, the activists insisted, the power that the Filipino people regained after the 1986 revolution. But then as one bozo after another got elected into office since 1986, it became quite clear that the erstwhile thought leaders of the time simply gave Filipino voters too much credit. It turns out they were really not that smart after all. independence in the hands of the Filipino voter was like a blowtorch in the hands of a two-year-old. And so the idea of educating Filipino voters came about.The thing with voter education is that it is really not that complicated. It comes down to something most normal people learned in kindergarten that we are ultimately all accountable to ourselves for the decisions we made in the past. In a society renowned for a collective facu lty for thinking that is stunted by amnesia and voodoo logic, voter education should start with a re-visit of these kindergarten basics that being accountable as a voter encompasses a system of three key acts of responsibility (a) Select the right leaders b) Use the system to hold them accountable and, (c) represent ourselves accountable for the quality of the leaders we choose using the system. A lot of the focus of this years voter education activist fad is on just the first one,selecting the right leaders. The harder part of the par keeping politicians on their toesin between electionsis where therealdeal lies. Unfortunately Filipinos are simply not up to delivering their part of the deal in between fiestas. And so politicians gravitate to the same old bagatelle Grandstanding politiciansThe reason Filipino politicians are so at liberty to make big, lofty, colourful, noisy, buthollowpromises during election campaigns is because the Filipino voter simply drops the ball once the fiesta is over. Because Filipino voters simply fail touse the system to hold them accountableas a matter of routine in between elections and utterly lack an ethic ofholding themselves accountable for the quality of the leaders they chooseduring those fiestas, Philippine politics is a con mans wet dream. You only need a lousy product and a million suckers to make a lot of money in business.And Philippine politics is, indeed, good business. And so we come to The role of cordial media in Philippine politics In a recently-concluded convention that axiom one of the current crop of thought leaders after another pontificate about what such akewwwlllthing social media is, we learned that social media is unparalleled in the way it breaks traditional commuinication barriers serves as a platform for unfiltered egalitarian dialogue elevates political discourse by providing a more inclusive discussion community and, prompts and demands quick response from its participants.Yadda, yadd a, yadda. In short (cutting through all the fad jargon), social mediatransmitsandamplifiesthe voice of the people at an unprecedented scale and aptitude so that every schmoe and her dog has a twister at the proverbial bullhorn once wielded by only the most powerful and influential people. Sounds sharp on paper. The thing with participating in social media chatter is that it is really a form of sophisticated Chinese whispers. The Twitter retweet and the Facebook share functions are the twenty-first Century facilitators of this game and it is now a game played on a vast scale.Communication engineers will point out that the principle of signal humiliation as data is transmitted, relayed, and re-amplified a number of times as transmission distance increases over a channel is the same as the way indirect information is perverted in a usual Chinese whispers game. Human debate unfortunately remainsanalog, so the advent of social media thedigital intermediatorin the propagation of this debate merely served as a more efficient way toaccuratelyspread low-quality information.With every digital factoid passing through Filipino brains in between retweets, the signal more and moredegradesinto noise. We see this degradation insignal-to-noiseratios chance(a) when we make photocopiesof photocopiesand make photocopies ofthosephotocopies, the quality of the copy worsens as the number of copies increase. Enlarge one of these nth-generation copies and you will come up with a really bad image. In the same way, amplify and transmit a bad signal over several iterations and all you get for your trouble is a louder and even noisier signal.That is essentially what social media is doing for the Philippine National Debate. * * * Indeed, everything essential to practicing countryproperlycomprises stuff most well-bred people learned as little kids. Having a plan to get where one wants to go. Acquiring relevant information and applying it shrewdly. Regarding sales pitches with a critical mind. Being deferent and prudent when communicating with other people disregarding of the communication technology being used. You dont really need a Masters horizontal surface in political science to really get all that.When one understandsfundamentalproblems using park sense, we tend to have a more applicative regard for some of the silver-bullet solutions that the savviest spin-meisters around us attain buzzes around. Source http//getrealphilippines. com/blog/2013/02/everything-i-need-to-know-about-improving-the-outcome-of-philippine-elections-i-learned-in-kindergarten/ BLOG POSTS Policy converse Series 2004 Academe Meets the Political Parties It has often been said that political parties in the Philippines are based on personalities, not on platforms and ideologies.But individuals do not nitty-gritty demands of sectoral interests. Ideally, parties become the key venues where policies and programs are shaped. In the end, it is still the parties who can be made accountable to their constituents and to the people come post-electoral politics. While it may be trustworthy that voting patterns in the Philippines have reflected preference for personalities rather than parties, the platforms of the political parties should still be subjected to public scrutiny. Source http//twsc. upd. edu. ph/training_PDS1. html look March 01, 2004 Filipino Voting PatternsBy Reynz According to some of the articles on the profits about Filipino voting patterns, most Filipino voters choose their candidates based on the following 1. ) Utang na loob (Debt of gratitude) 2. ) Winnability 3. ) Charisma 4. ) Media exposure 5. ) Eloquence 6. ) Pakikisama 7. ) Ka-ching ka-ching In other words, Filipino voters rarely vote on the home of the following 1. ) Capability 2. ) Leadership skills 3. ) Knowledge of the job 4. ) Moral upbringing and, 5. ) Fortitude Source http//www. reynaelena. com/2013/02/03/filipino-voting-patterns/ Date February 03, 2013