by Booma B. Cruz and Yvonne T. Chua
FIFTEEN-year-old Robert is every mother’s ideal son. He is responsible, obedient, kind, and generally well-behaved-traits that did not escape his classmates who chose him as class president.
About a month ago, though, Robert’s mother, Sophia, noticed that he had become unusually quiet and withdrawn. “I thought he had been jilted,” recalls Sophia. “And then his elder brother told me that my son had a problem and that I should to talk to him.”
The Campaign
The story of activists-turned-political consultants
Former communists are today's campaign operatives and political mechanics.
As told to Luz Rimban
JOSE Ma. Sison should cry at all the wasted talent. He could have won the revolution if the movement had stayed its course and kept its children from straying into the forbidden capitalist and reactionary world. (He shares a large part of the blame, too, of course, for steering a hard-line course and ousting — not to mention possibly ordering the elimination — of some of the best cadres from the party.) At any rate, these days, many of us who used to be part of the underground are all over the place. Some of us run telecommunications companies, public utilities, banks, and even the highest offices of government. Many form that segment of the middle class that supports decent candidates.
The Campaign
by George S. Caparas
IN A country as crazy about music as the Philippines, it is not surprising that even politics has a soundtrack. Long before showbiz and media personalities dominated Philippine political life, music was already part of it, from the revolutionary songs that boosted the morale of the indios revolting against the Spaniards, to the different anthems Filipinos were made to sing before they were finally able to belt out “Lupang Hinirang” in public.
The Campaign
by Cecile C.A. Balgos
AT LEAST Panfilo Lacson tells it like it is — or how it could be. Elect him as president and we could probably expect someone like Singapore’s Lee Kuan Yew, Malaysia’s Mahathir Mohamad, or Thailand’s Thaksin Shinawatra at the helm. All three are known for being, as the TV ad says, “buo ang loob, walang takot (determined, without fear),” traits that supposedly enabled them to steer their countries into becoming economic powerhouses. According to the ad, Lacson has the same traits as well, and its logic argues that these would enable him to do wonders for the Philippine economy, too.
by Chay F. Hofileña and Aries Rufo
CAN ELECTIONS really be an even battleground?
That is a question that campaign strategists and media organizations have to grapple with, given the caps on election spending and the limits set by the Fair Elections Act on campaign advertising and media exposure.
by Chay F. Hofileña and Aries Rufo
THE MEDIA have always been a major player in Philippine elections, more so now with the pervasiveness of television. But there is a twist in this year’s elections: the increasing influence of the entertainment media and of showbiz celebrities in the campaign. And that, of course, comes with a price tag.
The Campaign
by Ibarra C. Mateo
IT WAS a slow Saturday, and so a middle-level editor thought nothing of working on a press release handed over by a senior editor and turning it into a readable news item. It appeared in the paper the next day, and that should have been that. But then the three government officials who were quoted in the piece complained to the newspaper’s editors, saying the writer of the press release had not interviewed them at all. They also said that they had not authorized the issuance of such a press release under their names. An internal investigation conducted by the paper’s management later revealed that a shadowy political PR person had been the source of the fictitious story. Apparently, the aim was to cast the winning bidder of a government contract in a bad light.
The Campaign
by Vinia M. Datinguinoo and Avigail Olarte
10 GIMMICKS PRACTICED BY NATURAL-BORN POLITICIANS
Candidates use humor and hand signals, symbols and slogans to sell themselves.
by Romel Lalata and Cecile C.A. Balgos
LUPANG PANGAKO, PAYATAS, QUEZON CITY — Orlando Wong lives in the shadow of the huge dumpsite here, and there are times that he and his family can’t eat because of the stink of the place. But Wong, 42, is surprisingly optimistic about his future and that of the country. “The Philippines,” he says, “is going to walk the path of growth and development.”
DO MOST Filipinos decide for themselves on whom to vote?
On this point, wealthy and poor voters agree: Most think they do. At least, that’s according to a national survey conducted in April 2001 by the polling outfit Social Weather Stations.
