"With only a week to go before
May 14, political candidates are rushing about, pouring in the last of their
energy and finances into the final stretch to grab one of the much-coveted 12
senatorial seats.
Thirty-nine candidates vie for the 12
positions in very much the traditional way: campaign sorties, posters and
television, radio and newspaper advertisements. Only a few made a foray into
cyberspace, the much-touted wave of the future.
Various online sources put the number of
Filipino Internet users to be somewhere between 7.82 million (cia.gov
and internetwoldstats.com) and 12 million (digitalfilipino.com).
The last site states there are 41 Internet service providers and 8,000 Internet
cafés.
It’s hardly a number to sneeze at. Twelve
million votes can probably put a candidate in the Senate.
But perhaps, it is because most people see
the Internet as too futuristic that not a lot of the senatorial aspirants have
taken advantage of it. Most have put up their own websites, some as a token to
the technology, others to clarify issues against them.
Both senatorial slates have put up their
websites: Team Unity at http://www.teamunity.ph and the
Genuine Opposition at GenuineOpposition.com. These sites contain their
line-ups, the platforms of each bet and of the slate as a whole, and press
releases.
Senatorial aspirants Manny Villar, Mike
Defensor, Migz Zubiri and Chiz Escudero have put up their websites where one
can check their track record, laws passed, and positions on issues, and even
post comments.
Sen. Panfilo Lacson’s website is full of
clarifications and explanations of the issues (read: black propaganda) against
him.
Justine Espina-Letargo, a reporter from a
government station who is currently taking a post-graduate degree in new media
in Singapore, however, complained that one can hardly get a feedback from the
candidates through their websites. “I posted a question on Chiz’s website two
weeks ago, but up to now, there has been no reply. I guess, there’s no one
assigned to give replies to those who post questions on their websites,” she
said.
Though it seems a campaign tool of the
future, it would seem to have been a big mistake for candidates not to pay
attention to the Internet.
Apart from setting up their own websites,
some candidates have also taken advantage of sites such as Friendster and
Multiply to reach out to the young voters.
Among those who have put up their own
Friendster accounts are Sen. Francis Pangilinan, Rep. Francis Escudero and
military rebel Lt. Antonio Trillanes IV.
Trillanes has a blog where he tackles
issues and controversies about the Army and the Navy. His Friendster account
also contains his “eight-point vision.”
His supporters are also maintaining a blog
for him at www.friendsoftrillanes.blogspot.com. His online campaign
could explain why, though he is not in the top 12, Trillanes still ranks
relatively high despite his being detained.
Hampered by his detention, he turned to
technology as an alternative campaign strategy. “We will maximize technology —
TV, radio, print, text (SMS) and the Internet,” he said.
Escudero is also among those who have
maximized the use of Internet campaigning. Chiz was the first politician
to use live chat in launching his election campaign.
But it seems it is independent
candidate Kiko Pangilinan who stands at the very edge of Internet campaigning.
Kiko admits, though, that it is
still unclear whether this path would result in more votes.
“We are trailblazing in this area
and so the full potential of reaching out to voters remains to be seen. Still,
we believe that because of the number of OFWs, it is just a matter of time
before Internet campaigning becomes a necessary feature of future national
campaigns,” Pangilinan said.
Recently, Pangilinan has launched
his very own YouTube-based channel dubbed “KTubed (Kiko Tubed)” on multiply.com.
KTubed is like an online “reality
show” or a video diary of his day-to-day campaign activities. It shows an
intimate side of political campaigning: how Kiko starts his day, how he relates
to his daughters, and how he handles the hazards of physical campaigning. It is
a campaign strategy unlike any other which may possibly appeal as well to
Filipinos abroad who are missing life in the Philippines.
Apart from the individual
candidates, party-list groups, particularly the so-called “progressive” groups,
have taken advantage of the Internet.
Bayan Rep. Satur Ocampo was the
first politician to air reaction over his impending arrest over YouTube. Using
the Internet for a relatively low-cost campaign seemed natural.
Kabataan is also another party-list
group campaigning online. Its campaign targets the sector it hopes to represent
in Congress.
Politicians are making greater use
of the Internet than ever before in their campaigns, but opinions differ on the
impact that the Internet will ultimately have on the votes cast.
Sen. Sergio Osmeña III, GO political
strategist and campaign manager, said Internet campaigning is a serious form of
campaigning but it is not an alternative.
“Even in the US, television still
prevails as the major means of communicating a message. Plus, there is no
substitute yet for independent and objective news reporting as a source of
information for the voter,” Osmeña said.
He added there is no way to gauge
its effectiveness or reach.
Indeed, some political strategists
in the US say that the Internet’s impact on politics is overhyped. But there is
no arguing that the Internet is the way to go.
Republicans in the US have used the
e-mail as a new form of direct-mail campaign, something that Filipino
politicians have yet to do.
With about 12 million Internet
users, the e-mail is an exciting avenue to reach voters; it’s cheap and
efficient.
On the other hand, the Democrats
have raised cash through small-scale donations over the Net. It is unlikely,
though, that this form of fund-raising would be developed in this country over
the next couple of elections.
There are various reliable websites
and blogs which give updated news and information on candidates, political
parties and other election matters.
There is the Pinoy Voters Academy of
Simbahang Naglilingkod sa Bayan (http://www.slb.ph) which provides useful links to candidates’ websites. Philippine
Eleksiyon 2007 gives a daily report on important election news. Votester@team-yehey.com asks
bloggers to submit election articles and conducts an online survey on voters’
preferences.
The different television networks
and publishing companies with online services also offer interviews of
candidates in their podcasts.
Internet campaigning in the
Philippines has barely scratched the surface of the new media. The
opportunities, not only for the candidates, but also for the creative geniuses
behind these websites, will prove to be boundless. "
