Three celebrities have a fighting chance of becoming neophyte senators in the 20th Congress, according to the latest senatorial preference surveys of Social Weather Stations (SWS) and Pulse Asia on the May 12 elections.
According to a 2015 study, as personality and entertainment continue to be at the center of the polls, popularity remains a crucial factor in clinching public office. As a result, the Senate’s primary function of making laws and providing checks and balances in government deteriorates.
Artista on the balota
Celebrities are entertainers, personalities, and athletes who are well-known. “Meron kang (You have) publicity just by being yourself,” said Michael Yusingco, senior research fellow at the Ateneo Policy Center-Ateneo de Manila University.
Prominent media personality Bienvenido “Ben” Tulfo consistently ranks among the frontrunners in the Senate race. If he wins alongside his brother Erwin, he would be the third Tulfo in the upper chamber. Erwin is running under the administration’s Alyansa para sa Bagong Pilipinas while Ben is an independent like their brother Raffy who also ran and won as an independent in the 2022 senatorial elections.
Also running as an independent is television host, singer and comedian Wilfredo “Willie” Revillame, who has been going up and down the ranks within the lower half of the magic 12. He slightly fell off at the 13th-14th spot in the SWS polls but went back up to 8-14 in the recent Pulse Asia survey.
Film actor Philip “Ipe” Salvador is also vying for his first government post under the Partido ng Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan (PDP- Laban) banner. His attempts to grab local seats both failed when he ran in 2001 for vice mayor of Mandaluyong City and in 2016 as vice governor of Bulacan. Salvador ranked 14th-18th in the April senatorial preference survey of Pulse Asia, although the latest from SWS placed him at 17th-18th.
Celebrities win in elections because they have name recall, get media exposure and repackage themselves as alternatives to traditional politicians, Clarissa David and Jenna Mae Atun noted in a 2015 paper on celebrities in politics.
They also found that in voting for president and vice president at least, people with higher educational attainment, belong to higher economic bracket, and have less television exposure are less likely to vote for celebrity candidates. Those who live in Metro Manila are also unlikely to vote for celebrities compared to those in the provinces.
From fans to voters
One advantage that celebrities have, Yusingco noted, is that “‘Yung publiko, may connection sa kanila na (The public has a connection with them, that) could be at the emotional level, sentimental level.”
A TikTok user, for example, commented, “syempre kilala naman natin si willie noon palang (Of course, we already know Willie, even before) he’s always there to help people.”
A critic of Revillame on Facebook pointed to his lack of knowledge in lawmaking. Unable to divorce the candidate from the game show host, a netizen replied, “‘Yung may mga alam ba sa batas may nagawa at naiambag ba? Si Kuya Wil nga di pa naka pwesto nakatulong na eh di lalo na kapag nanalo siya mas marami ang mabibigyan niya ng tulong.”
(How about those knowledgeable on the law, have they contributed anything? Kuya Wil has already helped people without being elected. He will be helping more people once he wins.)
The Tulfo brothers propelled themselves into the public consciousness as champions of justice for the poor and underprivileged. Through their public service program ‘T3: Alliance’, Raffy, Erwin – the outgoing representative of Anti-Crime and Terrorism Community Involvement and Support Partylist (ACT-CIS) in the House of Representatives, and Ben boosted their mass appeal.
“Si Sir Ben Tulfo sobrang subok na yan sa pag tulong sa tao lalo na sa mga mahihirap na hindi kayang lumaban. Sa totoo lang bata pa ako idol ko na yan si Sir Ben guapo na npka bait pa. [sic],” a supporter wrote on Facebook.
(Sir Ben Tulfo is guaranteed to help people, especially the poor who cannot fight. Honestly, Sir Ben has been my idol since I was a kid. He’s handsome and also very kind.)
Artistas in government
Poor quality legislation is the inevitable outcome when aspirants who are not knowledgeable about the responsibilities of a senator are elected, said Yusingco.
In a viral Facebook video dated Feb. 21, Revillame was asked to give even just one bill he plans to pass if he wins a seat in the chamber.
After his usual spiel on helping the poor, he answered, “Ang ganda ng tanong mo, ah. Nakakapag-isip ‘yung tanong na ‘yan. Ikaw, sa tingin mo, ano ang batas na gagawin ko? Ibabalik ko sa’yo. Ikaw, baka may suggestion ka.“This was followed by laughter – and a cascade of criticism from Facebook users.
(That’s a good question. That question makes you think. How about you? What do you think is a bill I should propose? I’ll return the question to you. You might have a suggestion.)
“Nakakalungkot kung sila (celebrities) ‘yung makakapasok (sa Magic 12) kasi ano’ng ambag nila?” lamented Darren, a nurse working in Quezon City. She stressed the importance of spending years studying the law for senatorial aspirants.
(It’s sad if celebrities will be making it into the Senate because, how would they contribute [in lawmaking]?)
“Sayang ‘yung magiging boto ko kung ano naman, eh, useless naman ‘yung tao na ‘yun, (My vote will go to waste if the person I’ll vote for is useless,)” said Elbert, a security guard, as he recalled Revillame’s viral video.
Yusingco explained that when senators do not understand their constitutional mandate of preventing the executive from abusing its power, the checks and balances in government are compromised.
He noted that some of the incumbent senators have expressed — unashamedly — that they would do everything to protect the president. As an example, he cited former action star Sen. Robinhood Padilla, who has consistently pledged his loyalty and unrelenting support for former president Rodrigo Duterte.
“Isa ka nang bayani, (You are already a hero,)” Padilla said he would have told Duterte if he had the opportunity to talk to him in The Hague, Netherlands, where the former commander-in-chief has been detained since March 12. Wearing a green hoodie with the face of his hero printed on it, Padilla made a salute and said, “Tapos, yayakapin ko siya. ‘Hinding-hindi kita iiwan, boss. Kahit saan makarating, hindi kita iiwan’.”
(Then, I will embrace him. ‘I will never leave you behind, boss. Wherever we go, I will never leave you’.)
The box office star-turned-legislator topped the 2022 senatorial race with over 26 million votes.
From celebrity to dynasty
Celebrities with long political careers such as Vicente “Tito” Sotto III, Manuel “Lito” Lapid, Emmanuel “Manny” Pacquiao and Ramon “Bong” Revilla, Jr. — all of whom are ranking high in pre-election voter preference surveys — no longer enjoy the same advantages as when they first ran for public office.
“‘Yung celebrity status mo, limited lang ‘yung benefit niyan for you (The benefit you get from your celebrity status is limited) because again, […] you become subject to civil service rules and other laws that pertain to public office,” said Yusingco.
Nonetheless, upon assumption to office, they follow the same playbook — build and strengthen their political dynasties, Yusingco said.
Ben Tulfo’s siblings Ramon, Erwin and Wanda have held government positions. Ramon was appointed by Duterte as special envoy for public diplomacy to China from 2018 to 2019. Erwin briefly served as secretary of the Department of Social Welfare and Development under the present administration. After his nomination was bypassed by the Commission on Appointments over his citizenship, he was named as ACT-CIS representative in the House.
Raffy’s wife Jocelyn is also a representative under the same party list while their son, Ralph, is the incumbent representative of Quezon City’s second district. Wanda was secretary of the Department of Tourism from 2016 to 2018 under Duterte.
Some celebrities have entrenched themselves in their bailiwick provinces. Sen. Bong Revilla’s wife, actress Lani Mercado, and their son, Jolo, are both running for reelection as representatives of Cavite’s second and first districts, respectively. Their two other sons are also seeking public office: Bryan as representative of Agimat Partylist and Ram as reelectionist vice governor of the province.
The intersection between celebrities and dynastic politicians lies in how they value “optics rather than sa (the) substance,” Yusingco said, “They rely on the performative or being performative.”
He explained that famous personalities getting elected to public office is a symptom of the country’s lack of genuine political parties — institutions that are supposed to lead people in voting according to ideology, platform and policy. This fosters personality politics.
Yusingco said, “Ang botante natin, hindi siya nasanay na sa kanyang pagboto ay kailangan niya pag-aralan ‘yung programa, kailangan niya pag-aralan ‘yung ideolohiya, ‘yung prinsipyo.“
(Our voters are not accustomed to [the fact that] in voting, he needs to study the program, he needs to scrutinize the ideology, the principle.)
He stressed that civil society needs to really develop real political parties that will work “not just to win elections but to help Pilipinas (the Philippines).”
