Less than a week my dear friends before the Senatorial and Local election here in the Philippines, after months of campaigning (Legit and Not), after millions of pesos spent and a thousand if not millions of promises given, the day where our legally aged folks would vote for the local officials and 12 senators. Let me give you a small background of the campaign period.
1. Team Patay and Team Buhay (Pro Life and Pro RH)
Who would miss the huge posters of the Diocese of Bacolod? Promoting the Diocese's Senatorial bets who for them are Pro-Life and Anti-RH, don't get me started about this RH issue, I'm so fed up with it already.
2. The Lim Vs. Erap.
Incumbent Manila Mayor Alfredo Lim vs. Former President Joseph Estrada battling for the position of Mayor of the City of Manila, the nation's capital, by the looks of it both old folks seemed to be fighting over the presidency with all of their black propaganda, inappropriate slurs and the like, its the battle of the grand dads in the city of Manila this election, let's not hope that whoever win between them won't die in the middle of their term. (Just kidding)
3. Campaign Jingles
Those cars and jeeps carrying huge speakers and would play the irritating campaign jingles early in the morning at full blast? It seems like the cornier your jingle is the more appealing it is for the mass? No we just get the urge of blowing up your cars and form an angry mob.
4. The unopposed people.
They exist up North and down South the town mayors run the elections unopposed, too strong to be defeated? Nah, too rich to compete against.
5. T.V. Commercials
Yeap, but different from those T.V. commercials from the U.S. where the politicians would boast their achievements with a side dish of derogatory statements to their opponents. T.V. ads here for politicians are much more jolly, I can't think of another country where Politicians are ready to stoop so low just to garner the people's vote, literally making themselves laughing stocks.
6. Ole!
Ole! it is fiesta style! The Campaign posters and streamers bearing the ugly faces of the politicians hanging and posted everywhere, from lamp posts, electrical lines, cable lines, storefronts, walls, local comfort rooms, public transportation, telephone lines, basketball courts, schools. THEY ARE EVERYWHERE especially this election season, but once they're elected it's like an Easter egg hunt scenario to look for your Local officials.
7. Campaign Parades.
I hear sirens, is there an emergency? There's a fire truck in the distance where is the fire? but there's no fire, just a long, noisy campaign parade, those bidding for positions in the government with their own gimmicks, riding horse drawn carriages, tricked up pick-up and flatbed trucks and the occasional candy shower (if you're lucky enough they'd throw you a cheap shirt with the names of the candidates) but the cheap ones would just be contented with waving (Cheap people).
8. Campaign Rallies
You can never avoid a road that ain't blocked because a makeshift stage was erected in order for politicians to say hi to their future constituents and to rant about their achievements, to give their long list of promises, and of course the best part? candidates making a fool of themselves (I can't imagine the looks of their families.) dancing, singing, horsing around like idiots, and of course the comical slurs against their opponent which ranges from their leadership skills up to their mistresses and even their sex lives. (facepalm)
9. The "Ad" techniques.
Tackling ad techniques in 10th grade makes me realize that some politicians techniques on winning ain't even part of the legitimate ad techniques, of course the t-shirts with stapled money, the people who would go house to house to "campaign" and of course pay the house owners their bounty for letting them introduce their candidate, the amounts are different per candidate, the cheap ones would give 100 pesos per voter some would range to 500 pesos per voter. Yep no one would forget that, a daily activity especially during these times where election is just round the corner. Tsk. Tsk. Corrupt snakes buying their way in!
10. THE UNDYING PROMISES.
Who would forget this? No-one! Promises, promises, promises. Different for each candidate, "Free Education for all" aka Public schools, well we had them a long time ago. Cheaper food prizes, the ultimate removal of corruption (I guess this will be a permanent promise), better living conditions (Tell that to the people living in Mindanao or under the bridges of the Metro). In the end? These promises? Well they'd be buried, of course before the politicians fulfill their promises they would recover the money they invested on the campaigns (That's awfully a lot) And of course they would take a vacation to different countries and open up Swiss Bank accounts for the future, and after everything is said and done they'll go to work but wait! It's nearly election season again before they start working just to say their promises are now "in-progress". My God.
Well there's your Campaign Throwback. In the end after all of this it's the people's choice, their conscience that will prevail, so one message for the voting population? Just don't vote. (Joking) Vote who you think is right, not the one who has the corniest jingle, the one who looks like an idiot on campaign sorties and most especially not the one who gave you 500 Pesos during campaign.
I myself am not voting because I am 2 years below the legal voting age of 18, but still I anticipate who will win, who will lead the nation, the cities and towns, the provinces. And along with the country I am hoping for progress. This is how I saw the campaign period, I saw it IN THE EYES OF A TEEN.
Leave Comments, Suggestions or any Opinion! They are greatly appreciated, Positive or Negative.
Share this and spread the word of this blog! That would be appreciated.
Thanks for reading. Till the next post.
Beautifully made, very artistic....
ReplyDelete