Who to Vote For..., Part II

So a few weeks back, I said I was waiting for a sign that would perhaps enlighten me as to who it is I should vote for in the polls this coming May. I was pleasantly surprised when my wish got answered so fast when I stumbled upon this blog post by Lourd de Veyra in www.spot.PH.

Like I've said, I've made up my mind to vote for Noynoy Aquino, but I also admitted that he's not my top choice. Either Gibo Teodoro or Dick Gordon would've been my bet. But Gibo's political allies scare the hell out of me while Gordon seems to be lacking in political support and machinery. So I'm choosing to put my vote on Noynoy instead, hoping against hope that perhaps if more people would vote for him, then perhaps the 'sane' side of politics would win and this country would not go down the same downward path we chose roughly a decade ago when the majority of this country's voters voted for Erap.

Besides, the Liberal Party - Noynoy's party - has been going on and on for years as to how this country should be run anyway. While some of their ideas may be sound (to me at least), I would rather that they are not just all talk. Okay then, I'll give them a chance this time and see whether what they are saying are indeed things of substance or nothing but air. Now seems to be a very good time to put these idealists and their ideas to the test and see if they actually measure up to anything.



Nevertheless, I'm afraid to admit that there is a very high chance of Manny Villar winning this election. He's shrewed, cunning, and definitely knows how to work the PR machinery in order to convince the poor masses into voting for him. It's quite alarming how quickly he managed to climb the polls and threaten Noynoy's once commanding lead. Yeah, I'm totally blaming his goldfish suicide-inducing political ads for that. That's not helped either by Noynoy's seeming lack of campaign 'charisma' which probably wouldn't have been going anywhere if not for his sister and the crazy things she says and does.

Manny Villar definitely has worked out a pretty good strategy here. If there's one sure way of winning the majority vote in this country, one should simply appeal to the poor. Because truly, this country's poor does not want to alleviate itself from its hellhole. It would rather convince itself that by being poor, it is entitled to being pitied and embraced by some kind of 'superhero' who would accept them for who they are and go as far as to even say that he is one of the them. To hell with the bourgoisie and the rich! No doubt this country is going nowhere. Its people have given up looking for their own social ladders to climb. They'd rather see goods in plastic bags being dangled to them from up high. Manny Villar realized these things and boy does he put them to good use.

And if that wasn't enough, isn't it scary how his political campaign formula seems to mirror Erap's strategy ten years ago? Not just the appealing-to-the-masses thing, mind you. There's also the use of artistas to boost his campaign, like for example Dolphy. Isn't it a little crazy that he's not campaigning for his good friend Erap but for Villar instead? If that's not one hell of a PR strategy to pull off, then it must be truly a miracle from God. Oh and even scarier: if anyone could still remember what Erap's campaign colors were a decade ago, wasn't it the very same color being used by Manny Villar now - orange? What the fuck is seriously up with that color? It hurts my eyes! Q_Q

If Manny Villar is subtly trying to project himself as the new 'Erap' then he's doing a good job. And like Lourd de Veyra in his blog post, I wouldn't be surprised if the new president turns out to be him. Is there anything I could do about it? Why, yes! Vote for Noynoy, the only candidate seemingly capable of winning against Villar, and hope that he wins. If Villar wins, what do I do then? Nothing. Respect the people's vote because that is how democracy works.

"We get the kind of government we deserve", Lourd said in his blog. And if indeed Manny Villar wins, then the Filipino people, represented by its Wowowee-crazed majority, deserves him.

Photo from gmanews.tv