selling a president

It’s been almost three weeks since the election. And by whatever count, mukhang si Noynoy na nga ang bagong Pangulo ng ating dear country. In keeping with DS’ tradition of being opinionated (hehehe), let me give you my two-cents worth on what made Pinoys buy Noynoy’s campaign and snobbed the others .

.

Unahin ko na ang nanalo. Wala sigurong aangal when I say the biggest selling factor of Noynoy’s campaign was his parents. After Ninoy and Cory left behind an untarnished legacy, it’s clear now that being an Aquino is already a form of anointment that spells political power. Sana lang, Noynoy will uphold that legacy.

.

May nagawa din sigurong ‘conditioning’ ang mga surveys na naglabasan noong bago mag-election. Meron din sigurong na-convert dahil lagi syang leading sa mga surveys noon. Although maliit lang sigurong porsyento ito kung meron man.

.

Nakatulong din siguro ang mga artistang sumuporta sa kanya. Sa dami ba naman ng celebrity na kinaray ni Kris sa kampanya, imposibleng walang naging epekto ang mga tulad ni Dingdong Dantes sa naging desisyon ng ilang botante. Dahil alam naman natin that still, there are people who can’t (and won’t) discern between showbiz and politics.

.

At syempre, kung celebrity ang pag-uusapan, Kris herself is the front-runner of Noynoy’s team. And it looks like she has done more good to his campaign than the harm many of us (including me) unfoundedly worried about. Dahil kahit sunod-sunod na controversy ang kinasangkutan nya, mukhang hindi na yon pinansin ng mga botante. Good for her. Kaya lang, if I’m praying that Noynoy keep their parent’s legacy unblemished, Kris should try her best to do the same. Wag sana nyang pagsasaksakin yong mga taong kinainisan nya dati.

.

Back to Noynoy, it seems that bitter losers won’t stop hitting him with almost anything even after his convincing win. Things like his smoking and his marital plans. Para sa akin, both issues are so trivial. Being a smoker and a single man at 50 doesn’t determine the effectivity of a President. I’ll be more interested about his foreign policies, his economic strategies and his overall performance. The hell kung tumigil man syang mag-yosi o kung pakasalan man nya si Miss Shalani.

.
Now off to the losers.

.

Erap should just be thankful na marami pa ring sumasampalataya sa kanya. But obviously, marami pa rin ang hindi nakalimot na minsan, he was entrusted the power and he didn’t take good care of it. Marami pa rin ang hindi nakakalimot sa jueteng scandal. Sa Boracay mansion. At sa mala-soap operang hearing sa Senado na nagpasikat sa iced tea. As of now, maaring sya ang pinakamalapit sa number of votes na nakuha ni Noynoy but he should realize that that’s as far as he can go. At wag na syang mangarap na mag-file pa ng protest tulad ng mga ini-insinuate nya dati. As I said before, his own story is his own undoing.

.

Gibo must have the best platform to sell to the Pinoys. Unfortunately, kinulang sya sa pagbebenta ng mga platform na ito para bilhin ng vox populi. Kahit pa ibandera ni Anabel Rama ang kanyang mala-teenager na paghanga sa matalinong si Gibo, kinapos ang kampanya ng pinsan ni Noynoy. One big factor in his defeat is Malacanang. Because he was the Administration’s candidate, people saw him as another Gloria. He tried to change it by keeping distance from them, up to the point na nag-resign pa sya sa kanyang partido. But it still didn’t do the trick. At dahil dumistansya sya sa kanyang ninang, nawala ang grand machinations ng Malacanang sa likod nya. Hindi sya nakakuha ng malalaking artista para humakot ng tao at makinig sa kanyang mga paliwanag. Hindi sya nakapag-pagawa ng mga commercial jingle na pwede nang gawing record at ibenta dahil sa kasikatan. Kaya hindi nya naabot ang masa na hindi pa kayang sakyan at intindihin ang kanyang magagandang plataporma. Kung tinuloy naman nya ang pag-sandal sa Malacanang, alam naman nyang kiss of death ang dala ni Gloria sa kanya. At kahit manalo sya, he will always be viewed by many as Gloria’s puppet. Kawawang Gibo. Damn if you do, damn if you don’t ang naging drama.

.

Gordon should have thought about his dreams a thousand times before selling it to the Pinoys. Ayan nga at lumabas na hindi sya gusto ng mga Pinoy for the highest position in the land. He capitalized on his achievements in Subic but obviously, it’s not enough. His achievements in one small area of the country will not necessarily translate to success on a national level. Afterall, Subic doesn’t have the insurgency problems in Mindanao. Nor the poverty of the countryside. Besides, nagmukha din syang nega dahil sa katatalak nya about the surveys. Pinakita nya agad na isa syang pikon when he berated the opinion polls dahil lang sa mababa nyang pwesto. Ayan tuloy at sasampahan pa raw sya ng kaso ng mga kumpanyang nag-survey now that they have proven the ‘accuracy’ of their surveys. Personally, hindi rin ako nanghinayang sa kanya. To simply put it, I won’t buy him kahit sa pagka-Senador.

.

As for Jamby, ay wag na lang. Mag-aaksaya lang ako ng panahon. Pati yong ibang wanna-bes na nangarap.

.

Kung marketing strategy ang pag-uusapan, wala na sigurong tatalo sa team ni Villar na namahala sa paglalako ng kandidatura niya. They attacked almost every possible areas para makakuha ng boto. At kung ang boto ng Pinoy ay talagang nakukuha sa media exposure, dapat panalo sya at hindi si Noynoy. But what really happened to his billions of campaign fund na walang habas nyang ibinuhos? Bakit hindi naging effective? Saan nagkamali ang mga strategists nya at spin doctors?

.

He came up with the best campaign jingle that could have disloged Lupang Hinirang as the national anthem. Ang laking pambenta na noon sa masa. Binomba rin nya ang halos lahat ng Tv station sa mga commercial spots nya. Up to the point na ang isang walang pakialam na tulad ko ay halos masuka na pag nakikita ang kanyang ad. Wait, maybe that’s it. Baka naumay ang mga tao dahil sinobrahan nila ang ad?

.

Kung celebrity endorsers ang pag-uusapan, dapat panalo na rin sya. He was clever enough to get the four best endorsers (or so he thought) in his team. The four aces supposedly the best to court voters from the four major social demographics of the voting population.

.

Sarah Geronimo for the youth vote. Dolphy for the mature population. Pacquiao for the men, the working class and the sports sector. And Revillame for the women and the rest of the masa. Dito sa huli mukhang sumablay si Villar.

.

Sinabi ko na dati that I was turned off by Villar’s association with Revillame. And it looks like many other Pinoys felt the same. Dahil kung akala ni Villar na makukuha nya ang boto ng mga lola, nanay at kahit mga tatay na sumisigaw ng ‘ang gwapo-gwapo mo Willy’, obviously hindi nangyari yon. Recent events proved how unpopular this guy is. Kung nangyari ito noong bago pa lang mag-kampanya, Villar should have seen that Revillame is not an asset, instead, a liability to his campaign. Now it can be told. Pinoys can tolerate Kris’ kagagahan. But not Willie’s kayabangan.

.

Isa ring maaring nakasakit sa kampanya nya was the controversy so calculatedly thrown his way. Who knows, baka marami ring naniwala sa C5 scandal na pinag-banderahan ni Jamby at pinatulan naman ng Senado. As if naman kung matalo si Villar eh sya ang mananalo. Asa pa ang lolang ilusyunada.

.

Another thing that turned me off ay nong hinayaan nyang humarap sa media ang Nanay Curing nyang umiiyak at hirap na hirap magsalita. I pity the old lady. Naiintindihan ko ang sakit na gusto nyang iparating sa madla. But my sympathy for her was immediately followed with disgust for Manny. Ang dating sa akin, ginamit nya pati Nanay nya para lang makuha ang simpatya ng mga tao. Sabagay, he himself said that he will do anything just to realize his dream. But instead of being a selling point, bawas pogi points pa yon sa kanya.

.

Finally, maaring nag-boomerang ang drama nyang sya mismo ay galing sa hirap. Dahil kahit kalian, hindi naka-relate ang masa sa kanya. He was seen as someone who is sitting on billions of pesos. But did he actually do something to alleviate the poverty of Pinoys? Kahit nasa Senate na sya, parang walang matibay na ebidensyang he really cared for the poor. Kaya walang naki-simpatya sa kanyang kwento ng paliligo sa dagat ng basura.

.

In the end, walang nagawang mali ang campaign team ni Villar. In fact, they did the best they could pero hanggang doon na lang talaga. Coz Villar doesn’t have the Aquino legacy na hawak ni Noynoy. Kaya kahit ubusin pa nya ang bilyones nya para sa kampanya, wala pa rin syang laban. Pinoys thought that Noynoy is the best President-material among the group. An idea they have already bought even long before the campaign period started.