Editor’s note: Opinions expressed here are solely the author’s.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines) — The president of the country should be the best and the brightest. And so they say, But unfortunately, this is oftentimes not the case in the Philippines.
For if that were so, only the learned and stand-up politicians would get elected.
Recent history shows that the image candidates bring across to the voters tips the scale in favor or against them. The public’s perception of them — whether or not based on facts or reality — decides who gets to sit in the highest post of the land. That’s why candidates pay wads of cash to PR experts who can package and repackage them according to public taste.
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For the coming elections, standard-bearers conjure up images that can basically be classified into three.
The Good. Three presidential bets pin their hopes on the voters seeing them as the good guys — or gals.
One who promises to carry on the name of a famous parent. A legacy of taking up the cudgels for the poor and oppressed: fearless, loved and emulated.
Another is one who promises to pick up where “good governance” left off. Well-off and well educated.
The third one, an outspoken fighter for what is lawful, backed by a sterling track record. Brilliant, fiery.
The Bad. Bad here can be taken two ways — one is in a good way.
But first, the bad in its original sense. An image that has gone bad based on news reports of alleged wrongdoings. But this candidate has given to the poor, somewhat of a Robin Hood.
The second is one who says the right things at the wrong time and at the wrong place. Actually, the most honest, potty-mouthed candidate the country has ever seen — or heard. This one is good at being bad, and being bad does him a lot of good in terms of popularity.
The Angry. He is not only bad, but he is frothing at the mouth as well. A gunslinger who shoots from the hips — something which estranges and enamours him at the same time to the public. This candidate’s strongest asset has also become his biggest liability. Defiant, point-blank, explosive.
People are attracted to him perhaps because he says things that everyone wants to mouth off but are too afraid to do so. The outspoken spokesperson of the unspoken for.
Why good guys finish last. Based on a series of polls, it would be evident that most voters do not prefer the first category. They want something other than the “good” that the country has had for the past six years.
The bad has been in a seesaw battle with the good. But the angry is slowly making them eat dust.
History rehash. Like fashion, history apparently follows a cycle. For now, the yearning for an “angry” ruler is showing in the pre-election polls.
But had these polls been taken before 1986 — when an iron fist ruled the country — the results would have been exactly the opposite.
And should surveys translate to actual votes come May, we would have to wait another six years — hopefully, not another generation — for the next change of voter preference.
