So a viable winnable candidate who could pose a serious challenge to Vice President Jejomar Binay’s bid for the presidency in 2016 has emerged. Senator Grace Poe has come up as the second most popular presidentiable according to a Pulse Asia “survey” conducted in November wherein respondents were asked who they would vote for President if the elections were held at the time. Poe attracted the vote of 18 percent of the survey respondents, although Binay still topped the poll with 26 percent of respondents saying they would vote him for President.
FPJ’s daughter: Senator Grace Poe
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(1) Strong showbiz link. Check!
Poe is the daughter of Filipino cinema movie demi-gods FPJ (the “King Philippine Movies”) and Susan Roces, two of the most beloved stars in the Philippines’ entertainment industry. In 2004, FPJ ran for president against then re-electionist President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and lost. Interesting bit of trivia, Binay served as FPJ’s campaign manager during that election.
(2) Beneficiary of Philippine-style necropolitics. Check!
Like current Philippine President Benigno Simeon ‘BS’ Aquino III, Senator Grace Poe is in an excellent position to surf a wave of public sympathy straight into Malacanang. Her father’s death in 2004 is widely-believed to have been partially caused by the heartache related to his loss in the elections and, as such, there is an injustice card in her political circumstances that could be exploited in an election campaign.
(3) Perceived to be “humble” and “simple”. Check!
Photos showing Poe queuing up for and riding Manila’s infamously decrepit Metro Rail Transit (MRT) system went “viral” and bolster her persona as a true public servant. Filipinos are usually sympathetic to otherwise wealthy members of the Philippine elite being seen to be “one of them” and doing stuff that is normally reserved for people of less extravagant means.
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Suffice to say, Poe could be Philippine President because she can win an election.
But does the fact that one can also mean that one should? Indeed, the more important question to ask is why Poe should be president. What does she stand for? What is her platform? What is her vision for the Philippines? For now, the only answer Poe could provide to those questions is this: “Right now, I’m not considering any particular commitment except that I think that whatever the President has started, whoever will be the candidate, should be able to continue that…”
In short, Poe does not propose anything new.
To be fair, perhaps she has not made any brain space for these sorts of things because, as the papers report, she is still coy to the idea of her bum warming the top seat of the land. Also, again to be fair to Poe, Binay does not propose anything groundbreaking either; which raises another interesting question: On what bases would Filipinos be choosing between a Binay and Poe presidency?
With two horses now in the race, Filipinos are ready to play ball. There really is no point in holding one’s breath for an intelligent campaign platform to emerge from both camps. Both Binay and Poe are viable candidates precisely because their constituency lies mainly in the Philippines’ most impoverished voting demographic — the mighty “C-D” crowd. As such, the game will be traditional and unoriginal, and the debate surrounding it the usual droll and unintelligent drivel.
benign0 is the Webmaster of GetRealPhilippines.com.
Hail the Necrocracy that is the Philippines…
Seriously, we’re beginning to look more and more like Mordor or the Imperium of Man (minus its coolness) year after year.
Mordor would imply that we are a legitimate threat to the world.
Definitely agree with the Imperium of Man part. (Minus the coolness and successes)
-We have unwashed (Figuratively and literally) masses who are discouraged to think for themselves.
-We are besieged from all sides. (China, Communists, Muslims, our own Government)
-Our technology is in a state of decay and can only improve by importing others.
-We have colossal population that cannot be supported by our own land. (Like a hiveworld only more shittier)
-We have brainwashing propaganda shown to dumb down the masses making them easier to manipulate as well as to glorify our country. Aka Philippine Media
-Our armies are not that well trained and are equipped with gear that is outdated, whose only value are their numbers. (Imperial Guard)
-Nothing gets ever done because of all the bureaucracy and red tape. (Adeptus Ministorum)
-Our masses have been raised since birth to blindly follow religion and will viciously try to convert those who don’t believe.
-Our cities are a shadow of their former glories as decay and rot have set in.
-The country is slowly collapsing. Just like the Imperium is losing ground slowly but surely.
I’m sure that there are more examples that can be made, but this is enough.
“Fuck me, I’ve landed in a dystopian Sci-fi Novel.” ~ Marius O. Upon arriving in the Philippines
Where are the Chaos Gods, then?
Oh man… you used a horse racing idiom. LOL
Whoever wins, we lose.
The Failippines is, has, and will always be, in the Stone Age.
Define ‘we’.
That is correct.The country is fucked and is going to continue to be fucked until someone or something happens to derail/dismantle the entrenched oligarchy.
Hi benigno… Can’t wait for your comparison of the resolution of the hostage crisis in Australia versus the local type.
Has the Senator been asked those questions? I’ve been reading and watching on Poe’s coyness as it develops, but I haven’t read or heard anything resembling a question of vision.
We see candidates, like we see fighting cocks in a “Sabong”. Binay has nothing to offer, except his smiles; and “pagkukunwari siya ay mahirap”. Grace Poe has no managerial experience; as well as intellectual capability to solve the country’s many problems.
Being a celebrity is nothing. My dog, Rin-ti-tin, can also become a celebrity.
I remember the Greek Philosopher, who was carrying a Lighted Lamp at Midday in a marketplace. The people ask him why, he is carrying a Lighted lamp, at Midday.
He replied:” I am looking for an Honest Man.”
It is really hard to find a good President in this “Coconut Republic”. It is like carrying a Lighted Lamp at Midday, to find one.
Diogenes of Sinope, also known as Diogenes the Cynic, was the Greek Philosopher, who was carrying a Lighted Lamp at Midday, to find an “honest man”…
Our poor country. Being controlled by a few people and brainwashed by survey company like pulseasia. Kawawa naman ang bayan ko. Hangang kailan kaya bababuyin ng mga ito?
For the reading pleasure of my Facebook Friends: Link. But pls put your thinking cap on before starting to read it. 🙂
Running for president is the worst thing that Grace can do for her career. The last thing she wants is for the skeletons in the closet to be opened up. Remember in the 2013 elections, there is allegations of poll manipulation the 60-30-10 and it seems Grace to be one of its beneficiaries. Plus sticking to team yellow will most likely be used in a way to drag her down.
I doubt necropolitics will come into play. FPJ is long dead and GMA is already being detained. The injustice card will be harder to use.
With the common Filipino (aka the poor) only going for what they percieve as “good”. Rather than actual history or intelligence, it’s no wonder that this country is in the toilet.