PNN Los Angeles Special Edition: "The Duterte Magic"

Pilipinas Ngayon Na Business and Lifestyle Magazine

Los Angeles Special Edition, March 2019 Vol. XIV

From the Publisher:

Robert T. Rivera

National election in the Philippines is just around the corner, i.e., on May 2019.  Once again, politicians are courting the people for their votes especially those running for a national elective position. In our country, the President have six-year term of office, same as the Senators, both by direct vote by the people in a national election.  Senators serve six-year terms with a maximum of two consecutive terms, with half of the senators elected every three years to ensure that the Senate is maintained as a continuous body, though staggered.

They say that in order to win an election, you must have the purse, the machinery (which include people), a good platform of governance or legislative agenda, if you are running for a legislative post. In other words, you must be prepared.  Over and above the above mentioned qualities, you must have a good public relations (PR) people behind you; extensive mass media exposure; and, attendance to political rallies and person to person engagement. For traditional politicians especially in local politics, the former is the most effective way of campaigning considering the limited area where they are to campaign.  However, those running for a national postsneeds extensive mass media exposure considering the vast area they are to cover, our country comprises of more than 7,000 islands. 

How President Rodrigo Roa Duterte won the 2016 election was phenomenal. He was the last one who filed his certificate of candidacy as a “substitute candidate.” Initially, he has no political party or machinery, limited resources, attendance in political rallies and person to person engagement, and  has not received extensive exposures in the mainstream media, unlike other presidential candidates.

The most lethal weapon in his arsenal was his promise to address the problem on “illegal drugs, crime, and corruption - with his controversial nationalistic macho image appeal, tongue twister language in a clinched fist and a good number of avid or maybe fanatic social media followers. Is that all? Do you think that President Duterte’s most lethal weapon in his arsenal to convey his message and to reach out to the masses was only in social media?

Behind the macho image of a man is a human being with a heart.  Away from the public view, he was the only candidate during the last presidential election who reached out to former leaders of the land including the enemies of the state.  How those vying for a national elective post in the coming election are going to be groomed by their respective image makers, shall ultimately be tested when the electorate cast their votes in May 2019 national election.