“Spending money on TV ads, said the lawyer who is obviously fed up with interruption to his favorite programs, is a sure way to lose your audience.”
by Ducky Paredes
Why is former President Joseph Estrada leading the surveys leading up to the election of a new President so early in the game? Wasn’t he forced out of office because of excesses? Wasn’t he brought down by all the good forces of civil society, including the Church, non-drinkers, gamblers and non-gamblers (including sabunggeros – the latest self-discovered under-represented sector), the women, the schoolchildren and just about everyone else?
Besides, haven’t the other presumptive candidates been spending a lot – billions of pesos – on mostly television advertising extolling themselves or representing the presumptive presidents as men of the masses? So, how has it happened that. of all people, someone – who has not sought media coverage or spent anything on TV ads and is saying only that he might make another run for the presidency, if (and only if ) the opponents of the present administration (admittedly already stinking to high heavens) are unable to choose the one candidate that will bring it to victory – is leading the surveys and pulling away?
Like all my recent discoveries, the answer came to me during a golf game when a lawyer proposed the answer: when a lie is repeated often enough it becomes the truth; but when a TV ad gets in the way of your enjoying your favorite program and is in your face often enough, you begin to hate whatever the ad is selling.
The lawyer, part of my foursome in a recent senior tournament, pointed out that only three senators had ever won election as independents. The first was Gaudencio Antonino. He never took office because he died before the votes had been fully counted. Thus, his wife, Magnolia was proclaimed senator. In more recent times, Noli de Castro and Francis Pangilinan also went the indie route. How did they do it?
Certainly, not with massive TV ads. All three did it the way that Erap has been doing his non-campaign – by going out and pressing the flesh – shaking hands with people, connecting with them as individuals and listening, listening.
Spending money on TV ads, said the lawyer who is obviously fed up with interruptions to his favorite programs, is a sure way to lose your audience. (I hardly watch TV except for golf, athletics, a few other sports and CNN and thus have to go by what TV addicts tell me is happening to TV.)
So, is that a reasonable explanation for what it happening?
We can actually test this proposition. Next month, the wedding of a presidential aspirant will be shown in a primetime two-hour special. The hype for it already presumes that this will be the wedding of the year – perhaps, the century. After all, imagine a wedding now and the presidency nine months later (and, perhaps, a darling presidential baby, too?). Can one top this for a modern fairy tale?
If the lawyer is right, the candidate’s popularity ratings will drop instead of increase immediately after the wedding. Then, perhaps, he still could recover by going the way that Antonino, de Castro and Pangilinan – and now, Erap – did it, by being a real person, instead of a ghostly image on the picture tube doing things that male models do to promote the products they sell (in this case, one’s candidacy).
If his ratings rocket upwards after the September extravaganza, the lawyer golfer would have sold me a bill of goods that I tried to foist off on you. If he drops out of contention, we have our modern Atty, Nostradamus.
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ATOM, the August Twenty-One Movement, was born with the assassination of Ninoy Aquino. Among its achievements leading up to People Power was getting a small group of ATOM members to hold prayers on the spot on the Manila International Airport’s tarmac where Ninoy lay, blood oozing out of his body. That was after a massive march where thousands marched to the airport with that strange request. Getting permission after People Power for the yearly rite was easier since Reli German, among the ATOM originals was airport manager.
This year, these were the remarks of Reli, incumbent ATOM president, on that spot on the tarmac. (I beg the indulgence of non-Pinoys that parts of these are only in Tagalog.)
“A while ago, ATOM member Bert Alambatang noted that in the 26 years that have passed since Ninoy was assassinated on this tarmac, 26 members of ATOM have passed away. That’s one member a year. Creepy.
“But wait, there’s more interesting trivia.
“Cory Aquino died at 3:18 in the morning. Three plus eighteen equals twenty-one.
“There are 21 letters in Corazon Cojuangco Aquino.
“Cory died on August 1, 2009 at 3:18. Remove the zeros, put the numbers together and you’ll get 8129318. Rearrange those numbers and you will get 8211983. That’s August 21, 1983.
“Coincidence? Perhaps, but then, I’d like to think of these figures as a message to us who have been left behind by Ninoy and Cory. They have done their part. When will we do ours?
“Kailan pa natin itutuloy ang laban ni Ninoy? Kailan pa natin isasaloob ang mga adhikain niya? Sa tuwing sasapit na lang ba ang ika dalawampu’t isa ng Agosto, o sa kanyang kaarawan sa November 27?
“Napakababaw naman at walang katuturang pagbigay ng dangal sa kanya kung isa o dalawang beses isang taon lang natin bibigyan ng kahulugan ang kanyang sakripisyo para sa atin at sa ating bansa.
“Nakakalungkot. Nakakapanghinayang.
“Sa ating pagwalang bahala, sige, hayaan na lang natin na patuloy na maghari sa ating bansa ang mga traditional politician, mga trapo; ang mga kurakot sa gobyerno; mga grupong lumalahok subalit laging sinusubok ang hangganan ng ating sistemang demokratiko para ito’y pahinain at kanilang mailuklok ang kanilang uri ng gobyerno; mga abusadong pulis at militar; mga mapang-api at makasariling negosynte; ang mga tamad sa ating lipunan na lagi na lamang umaasa sa mga dole-out at tulong ng iba; ang ilang kasapi ng religious sector na hindi lamang nakikisawsaw kundi ngayo’y gusto nang mamuno sa larangan ng pulitika.
“Sa ganitong kalagayan, matutuwa kaya si Ninoy?
“Nakakalungkot. Nakakapanghinayang. Ang kapal natin. Ang manhid natin.”
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Readers who missed a column can access www.duckyparedes.com/blogs. This is updated daily. Your reactions are welcome at duckyparedes@yahoo.com
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hvp 08.20.09)
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