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Showbiz endorsers in demand in 2010 elections
IT IS the lawyer who knows the law, it is the fisherman who knows how to fish, and it is the architect who knows how to design buildings. So why should voters rely on celebrities in choosing whom to pick as their political leaders? But perhaps “rely" is too strong a word. Still, there’s no sugarcoating the fact that in this country, celebrity endorsements have helped many a politician win. In far too many cases even, celebrities themselves have been voted into public office with little to show beyond their showbiz credentials.
POLLS BIG BUSINESS FOR SHOWBIZ ENDORSERS by Jaemark Tordecilla and Annie Ruth Sabangan, PCIJ THIS HAS become one star-studded election season, but few are under the delusion that artistas have suddenly been seized by profound political or social consciousness. Longtime observers of the showbiz industry say it’s really mostly about money. “There’s not much principle involved," says entertainment columnist Isah Red. “Usually, the talent manager handles the deal so the celebrity endorses (a politician) and there’s quid pro quo. But of course, no one will categorically admit that it's like that." Yes! Magazine editor in chief Jo-Ann Maglipon shares Red’s observation. She also says that in general, it is the politicians who seek endorsement from celebrities and not celebrities who go out of their way to voluntarily recommend politicians to voters. “I know one celebrity, a certified crowd-drawer who wasn't seeking to become the endorser of politicians," she says. “He nevertheless did a tour of dinners with top candidates because everyone wanted to get him." “The pay is really good," adds Maglipon, explaining why even an initially uninterested celebrity would be enticed to endorse a politician. “I understand it’s P20 million and above (for top celebrity endorsers). It has reached P50 million (for some), I don’t know if anyone has been paid P80 million, but others have business deal(s)." Part of the game Maglipon says that endorsing candidates in exchange for money is already part of the culture among local celebrities. “They think that their services were acquired as an endorser because they were big, so they think they’re entitled to be paid for it," she says. Often, too, celebrities start to convince themselves of a politician’s worthiness only after they have struck a deal with the latter. This, according to Maglipon, indicates that principle isn't the endorser's primary motivation in campaigning for a candidate. “I don't know how many seconds or days later that self-convincing is made," she says. “But if the celebrity actually knew what the (candidate) was about, and did not have to sit (down) with him, then that means the celebrity studied the politician's platform and background." Yet while she believes majority of the current crop of celebrity endorsers were paid for their services, she says there are still cases where the celebrity really does believe in the candidate he or she was paid to endorse. Indeed, while Sarah Geronimo isn’t about to say whether or not she really received a multimillion-peso fee to endorse the Villar-Legarda tandem of the Nacionalista Party, she tells PCIJ that her political endorsements were borne out of principle. “It’s more than just political strategy," says the young, popular singer and star of recent blockbuster movies. “Our joint advocacies brought us together." Meeting of minds? According to Geronimo, it was her concern over issues about women’s rights and overseas Filipino workers that convinced her to back the Villar-Legarda team. She also says she considers it an honor, at her age, to have been chosen to help spread the message of the ticket’s campaign. GMA-7 star Dingdong Dantes meanwhile is among the celebrities who reportedly appeared for free in the TV ad that launched the candidacy of the Liberal Party’s Benigno Simeon ‘Noynoy’ Aquino III for president. Dantes says that while he made it a point to look at the platforms of other candidates, the legacy of Aquino’s family – former Senator Benigno Aquino Jr. and former President Corazon Aquino – was a big factor in his decision to support Noynoy Aquino. He says that his support for Aquino solidified after discussing issues about education with the candidate. Dantes continues to be active in the Aquino campaign, even organizing the Advocates of Youth and Students for Noynoy Aquino (Ayos NA). “I consider my efforts just the same as those campaigning for him in the streets, in their families, in their own homes," he says. “The only difference is that I have the privilege of being in front of many people, there are people who can listen to me, and sometimes they believe in what I believe in." More than money He says he isn’t being paid for his services, but volunteers that he has received a small token from Aquino: a small frame containing old five-peso coins from Aquino’s collection, autographed by the senator’s late mother. “For me," Dantes says, “that’s more than enough, that’s more than any monetary compensation." Maglipon, though, cites another reason why some celebrities would endorse a candidate even without payment: prestige. “If you are a star who is asked to endorse a political candidate, the higher the post, the higher your standing is in the showbiz community," she says. “That means they trust you to bring in the votes, you must be hot, endorsees must like you, the public must like you."
“It’s called transference," communications consultant Fernando Gagelonia says of the fusion of showbiz and politics in the Philippines, which has made celebrity endorsements part and parcel of political campaigns. “You’re beautiful, you’re moneyed, you’re successful, and I want to be like you." Even if it is only as far as making the same choices of one’s idol in the polling booth, apparently. It’s also called a shortcut, especially for those who have little political stock. Or as Gagelonia puts it, "If you are not a familiar face to the public, people will remember who endorsed you." Obviously, the endorser can’t be just anybody. Here in the Philippines, where the majority of the population are glued to their TV sets for three to seven hours a day, there’s no question from whom someone seeking election into a public office should ask for help. Says Yes! Magazine editor in chief Jo-Ann Maglipon: “If you want instant recall, if you want immediate rapport with a large audience, there is nothing like having a celebrity endorser." An ideal world In an ideal world, of course, celebrity endorsers don’t matter. After all, says Rolando Tolentino, dean of the University of the Philippines College of Mass Communications, “What needs to be sold are the platforms of politicians, their ethical positions, where they’re coming from, where they’re planning to deliver the country in the next three or six years -- that should be the basis of choice." That it isn’t can be traced in part to the cult of personality that is Philippine politics. This in turn seems to be the result of a multiparty system that has failed to encourage the development of unique policies and ideas, and has instead degenerated into a mindless free-for-all for votes and not much else every three years. Political strategist Ronald Jabal of AD&R Strategic Communications, Training and Research says that the usually overcrowded senatorial race in particular is highly dependent on candidate awareness and name recall. And as pointed out by Maglipon, the easiest way to achieve high awareness and recall is to tap a celebrity for an endorsement. “It may sound stupid," says Jabal, “but that’s the name of the game." Mega-wives For example, he says, a large part of the victory at the 2001 polls of Senators Francis ‘Kiko’ Pangilinan and Ralph Recto can be credited to their showbiz wives. Pangilinan is married to ‘Megastar’ Sharon Cuneta while Ralph Recto’s wife is ‘Star for All Seasons’-turned-politician Vilma Santos-Recto. Cuneta’s selling prowess is unquestionable. She can sell anything to the public – from burgers to milk to movies. Jabal is only one of many who believe she helped sell her husband’s candidacy. It also helped that years before running for the Senate, Pangilinan had carefully cultivated his image as a public-service lawyer under the klieg lights of ABS-CBN’s news and current affairs department, hosting several shows on TV and radio. Recto, meanwhile, had already served nine years at the House of Representatives before running for a Senate seat. But he apparently still considered his wife’s wattage useful at the hustings. In truth, in a move that demonstrates how showbiz trumps history, Recto – grandson of nationalist Claro M. Recto – even ditched his surname and campaigned as Mr. Vilma Santos for greater name recall. Twins? Yet another example of a Senate seat won by way of a celebrity is that of Ma. Ana Consuelo ‘Jamby’ Madrigal, the shipping and banking heiress who had her first brush with national politics as part of the Estrada administration. After the ouster of her political patron, Madrigal made a bid for the Senate in the 2001 polls, but lost. Three years later, she tried again – and surprisingly placed fourth in the race. The difference in Madrigal’s two runs was that on her second try, her handlers thought of having young actress Judy Ann Santos as her endorser. In fact, they went as far as engineering the looks of the endorser and the endorsed in posters and TV ads so that the two could almost pass as twins. At that time, Santos and the popular action star Robin Padilla dominated the primetime ratings with the action-packed television series “Basta’t Kasama Kita." Santos, who started out as a child star, also had a huge masa following by then, and enjoyed a wholesome image. Turnaround Many people were thus surprised when Madrigal, now aiming for the presidency, suddenly denounced the use of celebrities in political campaigns. “Paying actors P30 million for endorsements is an insult to the Filipino intelligence," Madrigal said in a presidential forum last February. “I have seen the folly of my ways and I will not repeat that because I do not believe you repeat a mistake. I also don’t believe you should perpetuate lies (with) a thick budget." Madrigal may just be an astute student of political campaign strategy, though. According to Jabal, presidential and vice-presidential candidates cannot rely on showbiz endorsements alone. They have to brush up on issues that matter, he says, as the public somehow demands more from people running for these posts. Failure to launch Then again, there is the faltering campaign of the administration’s presidential candidate Gilberto ‘Gibo’ Teodoro Jr., who Jabal says “sticks to issues." “But people find it boring," he concedes. Not even the catchy “Sulong Gibo (Forward Gibo)" song by the popular pop rock band Rivermaya managed to keep the public’s attention on Teodoro long enough for many of them to listen to what he has to say. Ironically, Teodoro has not made much use of the celebrity of his running mate, Edu Manzano, a former TV host, as well as father of VJ and model-actor Luis Manzano and ex-husband of Vilma Santos-Recto. In any case, there is also such a thing as too much star power, says Malou Tiquia, founder of the political PR and lobbying firm Publicus Asia, Inc. She cites in particular the celebrity-filled ‘Hindi Ka Nag-Iisa (You Are Not Alone)’ TV ad that introduced Benigno ‘Noynoy’ C. Aquino III of the Liberal Party (LP) as a presidential candidate. Drowning in stars 
Young star Sarah Geronimo with vice presidential candidate Sen Loren Legarda
