Isko Moreno and Manny Pacquiao are both vying for the highest position in the Philippine government.
With millions of Filipinos easily attracted to fame as a primary driver to pick a candidate, their chance of getting a massive fraction of the voting public is definitely high.
Moreno and Pacquiao are not the first ones to try their luck at winning the seat at Malacañang. Joseph Estrada, an actor, tried and even won the Presidency in 1998. Across the archipelago, in many towns and provinces, various celebrities make bidding to occupy top elective posts, and they usually succeed. A mix of charisma, attractive branding, and resourcefulness often become their greatest tool in boosting their already humongous appeal to the public. There is a need to understand why celebrities like Pacquiao, Moreno, and countless other showbiz personalities-turned-politicians, get very famous with people. Helping them get to those public posts rarely ends up beneficial to communities they are mandated to serve.
This year alone, Philippine politics has completely transformed into a fallback venue for movie and television stars who have arguably received the brunt of the still prevailing pandemic. Philippine politics became a messy swathe of aspiring stars who mostly bank on their popularity to have their names shaded at the 2022 national polls. Does it not bother voters that these personalities are gunning for a much more intricate and exhausting job than showbiz but pays much less? Apparently, to most, it doesn’t. We’ve seen former movie stars take either the roles of top provincial and municipal executive posts or lawmakers amid their very limited knowledge of the law.
This trend is not confined within the spaces of Philippine politics. Anywhere in the world, superstars take advantage of the popularity to win seats in their respective governments. In the US, both Ronald Reagan and Donald Trump first enjoyed celebrity statuses before entering the realm of public service. Yeah, public service—that’s the other term, but it really rarely becomes the ultimate goal. That’s not the usual case, for sure, as we have seen extremely rare cases of celebrity politicians who dedicated themselves to public service. But that reality is mostly not true for everyone, every province or town.
Backdoor entry.
Showbiz and Politics seem to be perpetually overlapping worlds. The door to politics gets inadvertently swung open for anybody who finds themselves under the spotlight of showbiz. More often than not, they take that opportunity to go to the other side, and when they do, showbiz becomes their fallback when their chances in politics fall short.
Unlike old-fashioned politicians, most celebrities have become media-savvy to help them keep their charismatic image alive. That’s a plus anyone gunning for a public position would wish to have. In that department, celebrity aspirants often have the upper hand, enabling them to win a big fraction of the voting public easily. That’s an advantage Moreno and Pacquiao are seemingly trying to take for them to weave compelling narratives to amass support. Both Moreno and Pacquiao have a zero-to-hero background to capitalize on, so it won’t be too hard for them to expand their already huge following.
The rise of celebrity politicians can be attributed, in part, to how politicians gather support in their bid to occupy or keep an elective seat. While some opt to stick to the traditional ways, more are increasingly getting well-versed with the power of social media and other similar platforms. In the context of campaigning or even gathering election funds, having a good grip on social media technology is bliss. Those who have already established celebrity status for themselves before politics are more likely to enjoy the advantages of social media or traditional platforms like radio and television. They are likely to attract more attention despite their very limited prior political accomplishment.
A convenient escape from traditional politics.
While it’s true that many celebrity politicians have the tendency the become more populist, some are just naturally blessed to possess a charismatic charm, even without backing on a narrative the mainly appeals to the common people. Many who are successful in winning public support, in spite of their utter lack of political experience, mostly relied on their popularity alone. For some reason, celebrities have somewhat perfected the language that appeals better to the understanding of the ordinary man, using a simplistic communication tool that often makes them more grounded and relatable.
Through the years, we’ve seen celebrities take advantage of the very fact that they lack prior political experience, as they’ve distanced themselves from traditional politicians whose images have been largely stained by links to corruption and government mismanagement. Many of them have offered their branding as the new face of politics, which often gets sold. The choice to set themselves apart from traditional politics often makes voters think that it’s better to send a newbie to the public office than experienced politicians who are arguably skilled in fooling their constituents.
As observed and written in the history books, celebrities who found themselves in the world of politics often fail to make a good record. There are a few who surprisingly become exemplary politicians, but they are exceptions. The ousted President Estrada, Senators Bong Revilla and Jinggoy Estrada, many more political figures who came from showbiz, had their names marred by allegations of corruption and criminality. Some are even convicted and imprisoned. Those who aspired to become lawmakers and succeeded are forever questioned of their ability to understand the Constitution and the very law they authored.
It is difficult to say that the rise of celebrity politicians indicates a maturing democratic system. If anything, it depicts a rotten apple thrown into a basket of fresh ones; it becomes the very decline of our already political system and the very democratic space it is allowed to thrive. It must be taken as an ominous warning by voters who by now are already tired of populists, whose charismatic presence are often just a cloak to a future political failure that is poised to happen in the wake of having them elected in a public office.
