Celebrity Political Power in the Philippines

Politics is the practice of influencing other people and achieving positions of governance
over a community, particularly a state. It also encompasses the practice of distribution of
resources and power within a community as well as the interrelationships between communities.
The influence of politics is vital to the law and order of a community. It is very often said that
politics is about power (Painter & Jeffrey, 2009). The importance of politics in modern day
society is undeniable and the influence of politics is prevalent in modern society. The influence
held by a politician in an office is enormous and his/her decisions can have a great impact on the
development of the state.
I.

Philippine Politics and the History of Propaganda

As stated in Article II, Section 1 of the 1987 Philippine Constitution, The Philippines is

a democratic and republican State. Sovereignty resides in the people and all government
authority emanates from them.i This means that the Philippine government is a republic that
follows a presidential system wherein power is equally divided among its three branches: the
executive, legislative, and judicial. In the Philippines, the powers of the President means having
the power over the executive branch, power in appointing officials of the government, veto
power on bills and power of supervision over local governments. Politicians holding office in the
legislative branch of the Philippines can affect the laws of the state and the Constitution of the
State itself.ii A Filipino in a political office holds a great deal of responsibility and power over the
matters of the State and its citizens. The wielding power of holding a political office in the
Philippines entices people to run for office. During the 2010 Philippine Presidential elections, 61
senatorial candidates vied for the 12 positions in the Senate (National Tally, n.d.) The sheer

number of competition that a politician faces during election is staggering. Due to the
competition and their desire to acquire a political office, a vital part of a politicians campaign
plan is to make themselves known by the public through propaganda.
Political propaganda has been present since the death of Julius Caesar on the Ides of
Marches in 44 B.C. During the period after Caesars death, early political propaganda by
Octavian, Sextus Pompery, Lucius Antonius and Fulvia were rampant and it included the use of
charges, counter charges, manifestos, pamphlets and lampoons as politicians tried to win the
support of the public and the troops (Scott, 1933). But only until the past 100 years has
propaganda evolved into a scientific process that can influence a whole country. This evolution
of propaganda is credited to the development of new technologies that are capable of spreading
information to a mass group (Bruck & Manzaria, n.d.). Propaganda has constantly been used as a
political and social tool to subtly influence the attitude of the public. Propaganda is extremely
powerful because anyone can be susceptible to it. As explained by Robert Cialdini, Arizona State
University Regents Professor Emeritus of Psychology and Marketing at Arizona State
University, propaganda is so influential because people exist in a rapidly moving and complex
world. For people to deal with the pace of the world, they need shortcuts. People cannot be
expected to recognize and analyze all aspects in each event, person, and situation we encounter
in one day. People do not have the time and energy or the capacity to process the information;
and instead people rely on stereotypes, their own rules of thumb, to organize things into certain
few key feautres and then respond without thinking when one or another of these key features are
present. The use of propaganda in todays society is extremely evident, especially during
campaign period where politicians use the power of propaganda to increase their chances of
being elected. Modern propaganda utilizes all types of available media to spread its message,

including: press, radio, television, film, computers, fax machines, posters, meetings, door-to-door
canvassing, handbills, buttons, billboards, speeches, flags, street names, monuments, coins,
stamps, books, plays, comic strips, poetry, music, sporting events, cultural events, company
reports, libraries, and awards and prizes. Some types of media that were mentioned may be
surprising but that only shows how difficult it is in recognizing propaganda. Those who control
and have access to the media will have the power of potential control and shaping the publics
opinion (Bruck & Manzaria, n.d.).
The importance of propaganda in influencing the publics opinion and attitudes makes it a
vital tool for politicians who have hopes in winning political positions. In the Philippines, the
usage of propaganda during election period is very evident. On the campaign period, voters are
bombarded with television advertisements, print advertisements, flyers and radio advertisements
by politicians running for office. Throughout the 2010 Philippine Presidential elections, the net
total spending on televisions, radio, print ads by party-list groups and national candidates alone
amounted to Php 4.3 billion (Reyes, 2010). The total net spending of the political candidates
during the 2010 Philippine Presidential elections shows the reliance of the politicians to mass
media. The spending of the politicians in the mass media also reflects the role of mass media as a
primary tool of politicians campaign strategy.
II.

Impact of Mass Media and Mass Media in the Philippine Society

During the twentieth century, the term "mass media" was coined to describe a what was then a
new social phenomenon and a key characteristic of the emerging modern world that was being
increasingly built on the foundations of popular democracy and foundations of industrialism. The
mass media refer to the organized means of communication, at a distance, to many people in a
short period of time. Early types of mass media (newspapers, magazines, radio, cinema and

phonogram) evolved and developed rapidly to reach formats that are recognizable today, with
changes in scale and diversification and the addition of the television in the mid-twentieth
century. The key features of mass media and communication that were around seventy or more
years ago are still in our minds: the universal fascination they hold; their capacity to reach an
extremely large amount of people in a short period of time and with the same information; their
stimulation of hopes and fears; the assumption that mass media has great impact and influence;
and the presumed relation to sources of power in society. There are many and outgoing changes
to the available media and in some aspects of their form and content. Mass communication has
evolved and is no longer described as the only means of accessing an entire population. New
technologies have been developed and taken up constitute an alternative potential network of
communication. Mass communication, as a large-scale, one-way flow of public content, remains
unchanged, but it is no longer carried out by 'traditional' mass media. The emergence of new
media (Internet and mobile technology) and new types of content and flow supplements the
'traditional' mass media. The difference between the 'traditional' and new media is mainly on the
latter as being more extensive, less structures, often interactive and as well as private and
individualized. However, even if there are changes under way in mass media, there is still no
doubt that mass media in the current society holds a significance in the field of culture, everyday
social life, economics and politics. (Shinde & Yadav, 2014)
In the area of politics, mass media provide an arena for politicians to debate and a set of
channels for making policies, candidates, ideas, and important facts to be more widely known as
well as providing politicians, agents of the government and interest groups with a means of
publicity and influence. Everyday social life is strongly influenced by the routines of mass media
and infused by its contents through the way leisure time is spent, topics of conversation, modern

behavior and lifestyle influences (McQuail, 2010). Mass media can paint a picture of who are the
powerful and powerless inside the society that people live in. As a cultural pedagogy tool, mass
media can contribute in educating the public, through languages, and myths but mass media do
not just inform, persuade, or entertain the public, it can also be used by ideologies that seep and
may falsify reality and blur truth in favor of the ruling class or by those who control mass media.
(Shinde & Yadav, 2014)
The influence of mass media is evident in the current Philippine society. One of example of a
mass media is the television. The importance of televisions in the Philippines is shown by studies
conducted by the Asia Research Organization and the AGB Nielsen Media Research Philippines.
The study by the Asia Research Organization showed that television has a 95% reach among
Filipino households. The study by the AGB Nielsen Media Research Philippines showed that
96% of homes in Metro Manila have been penetrated by television. The impact of television in
the Philippines is so great that the Philippines is second only to Japan in having the highest level
of television viewing with about 200 minutes a day spent in watching. (Centeno, 2012) There
have been instances of national trends in the Philippines that were driven by television
commercials. These national trends that were based on television advertisements are a reflection
of the power of mass media in the Philippines. An example of a national trend that was based on
a television commercial is the Finally Ariel video, which garnered more than one million
views on YouTube and had people posting videos while imitating the commercial.iii
Celebrities play a major role in television: they usually appear in talk shows, variety shows,
and television soap operas. (Centeno, 2012) But celebrities do not only appear in variety shows,
talk shows and soap operas, they have become one of the primary tools that are used for
attribution or to give meaning to the one being endorsed. The infusion of celebrities has been an

obvious phenomenon in television in which the everyday audience experiences. Current day
celebrities usually come from the sports and entertainment industries and they are very visible
through media. The private lives of celebrities attract greater public influence that their
professional lives. The interest of the Filipino public of celebrities can be seen in social media.
Table 1 shows the number of people following three celebrities in the Philippines on three
different social media websites. These three celebrities are Vice Ganda, Anne Curtis-Smith, and
Angel Locsin and the social media websites are Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.
Table 1

Sources:

https://instagram.com/therealangellocsin/
https://instagram.com/praybeytbenjamin/
https://instagram.com/annecurtissmith/
http://www.socialbakers.com/statistics/facebook/pages/local/philippines/celebrities/
http://www.socialbakers.com/statistics/twitter/profiles/philippines/

The influence of celebrities on the Filipino public can be seen in Table 1. The number of internet
users in the Philippines has reached 38 000 000 as of mid-2014. (Montenegro, 2014) That means
27% of Filipino internet users are following the celebrity with the most number of Facebook
page local fans. The percentage of Filipino internet users in the Philippines that follow the
celebrity with the most followers on twitter is 21%. While the percentage of Filipino internet
users in the Philippines that follow the celebrity with the most followers on Instagram is 7.8%.
Celebrities in the Philippines certainly influence a large number of Filipinos.
III. Celebrities in Philippine Politics
Celebrities hold a great influence on the Filipino people and because of their influence they
are usually used by politicians as tools of propaganda. In the past, people usually regard political

success in terms of acquiring a position to having the control of "guns, gold, and glory, in
contemporary society another 'g' have been added - glitter. This refers to the prominence and
popularity of a political figure that receive endorsements by celebrities. With the combined
campaigns on media, celebrities add glitter to the character that politicians construct through
media platforms. The role of the celebrity plays across many aspects of the cultural landscape
and has expanded and multiplied in recent years. The number of advertisements that feature
celebrities as spokespersons would attest to that. The influence of celebrities to the Filipino
public is even more noticeable in political communication during campaign periods. As stated in
a Social Weather Station (SWS) press release two months before the May 2007 elections,
"receptivity to political ads definitely matters it matters differently to different senatorial
candidates". The interaction of the celebrities to their audience is a factor that affects the voters'
perception and actions. (Centeno, 2012) There had been instances in the Philippines where
politicians won a political office because of the help and endorsement of a celebrity. The former
Department of Trade and Industry Secretary Mar Roxas was elected as a senator when he was
romantically involved with Korana Sanchez. Former president Gloria Arroyo also used the
influence of celebrities as she was endorsed by popular talk show host Boy Abunda for the 2004
presidential elections. The Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism claims that the most
popular instances on which the influence of celebrities had a major impact on the campaign of
politicians, was of the then unknown candidate Maria Consuelo "Jamby" Madrigal. The
Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism asserts that "Jamby" Madrigal overwhelmingly
won because of the endorsement of actress Judy Ann Santos who joined her campaign rallies and
endorsed her to the public. It is an established fact in the Philippine political arena that as a
candidate is exposed to media, the higher his/her chances of winning during the election will be.

It is also believed that if a particular candidate can penetrate deep into a Philippine household
then he/she already won half of the battle. The group of Ana Maria Tabunda, chief research of
Pulse Asia, conducted a study that aims to understand the impact of political ads in the 2004 and
2007 elections. The results of their study show that voters felt the need for campaign ads. Ads
serve as primary source of information for first time voters while ads served as tools to determine
the sincerity of the candidates for the veteran voters. The factor of recall for a politician is
important. If a voter does not remember the name of a candidate or is unaware of the running of
a candidate, then a good platform and program is put to waste. (Centeno, 2012)
The use of celebrities by the politicians as a tool of advertisement, endorsement and as a way
to affect the opinion of the public is highlighted on Table 2.

Sources: http://www.rappler.com/nation/politics/elections-2013/27044-mother-lily-grace-poe-endorsement
http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/nation/02/11/13/sonny-angara-taps-coco-martin-pol-ads
http://pcij.org/stories/2004/media.html
http://thepoc.net/index.php/celebrity-endorsement-of-candidates-bring-mixed-results/
http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story/182836/lifestyle/design/celebrities-bring-on-the-campaign-glitter

Table 2 shows nine politicians and their celebrity endorsers during campaign period. Benigno
Aquino III who had nine celebrity endorsers was elected as the President of the Philippines
during the 2010 presidential elections. Grace Poe, Sonny Angara were elected as senators during
2013 Philippine Senate election. The table shows the heavy reliance and use of celebrities by
Filipino politicians during campaign period.
Celebrities are not only used as tools for political campaign because some of the celebrities
themselves have run for office. A major route to a political office is by being a celebrity.
Celebrities have gained powerful political offices throughout Philippine history. Examples of
celebrities who have gained powerful political offices are former actor and President Joseph
Estrada, action stars Senators Manuel Lapid and Ramon Revilla Jr., former actor Congressman
Lani Mercado and newscaster Senator Loren Legarda. Another celebrity who has gained a
political office is Congressman Manny Pacquiao who amassed a fortune through boxing and had
a television show (Pertierra, 2012).Celebrities are notably powerful in the Philippine political
arena. An example of a powerful celebrity-politician is Joseph Estrada. Estrada, a former actor,
was only one of two opposition Senators elected in 1987. In 1992, he won the Vice-Presidency.
He was also elected as President in 1998 by the widest margin of any candidate since the fall of
Dictator Ferdinand Marcos. He tried to run again for a Presidential office on 2010 and he lost but
he .was ranked second based on the number of votes. Joseph Estrada is the incumbent mayor of
Manila (Thompson, 2010). The political career of Estrada shows the power of celebrities as
politicians. Table 4 shows a list of celebrities in the Philippines that have run for office and the
results of their respective positions.

Table 4

Source:

http://lists.famousfix.com/ctn_14098320/filipino-actor-politicians

Table 4 shows that out of 43 celebrities who have run for office only seven lost. The appeal and
influence of Filipino celebrities to the Filipino public not only exist in the entertainment industry
but extends to Philippine politics.
IV.

Celebrities as Politicians

As Table 4 presented, there have been numerous occasions on which celebrities were elected
as government officials. Celebrities in the Philippines are influential in contemporary society in
the political context. The influence of celebrities in politics and to the public reflects in their
occupied political positions. Political positions that have been occupied by the Filipino
celebrities range from a city councilor to the President of the Philippines.
A government official in the Philippines holds extreme power and influence to the
countrys future. As government officials, celebrities have made a significant influence on the
future of the Philippines. An excellent example of an influential celebrity-politician is former
President Joseph Estrada. During the administration of President Joseph Estrada, the rising
economic conditions of the Philippines slowed. The Estrada Administration was full of
controversies; his administration was accused of cronyism, incompetence and corruption
(Overview of the Economy, n.d.). The governance of the Estrada administration took a heavy
toll on the economy: unemployment rose, currency fell and budget deficit grew. The Estrada
Administration waged an all-out war against the Muslim separatists in Mindanao. Former
President Joseph Estrada was charged with graft and corruption in the form of receiving millions
of dollar in illegal gambling payoffs. Joseph Estrada was the first President in the Philippines
that was impeached (Philippine History, n.d.).

Another example of a celebrity politician is incumbent Congressman Manny Pacquiao.

Congressman Manny Pacquiao was met with criticism on his performance in the Congress. After
nearly six years in office, Pacquiao has yet to pass a single bill in through the committee. The
attendance of Pacquiao in the Congress was also met with criticism since he only attendance four
session days in the Congress. His absence in the Congress was due to his boxing training.
Pacquiao helps and gives financial aid to his constituents in Sarangani (Teves, 2015)
Lito Lapid is another case of a celebrity turned politician. The first term of Senator Lito
Lapid was marked with achievements that proved his worth as a legislator. He was placed as
fourth among his peers in the numbers of bills and resolutions filed in the 14 th Congress. Senator
Lito Lapid fathered one of the most meaningful legislations of the 14 th Congress, the Free Legal
Assistance Act. At the end of the 15th Congress he was ranked fifth among the most prolific
members of the Upper Chamber with 239 measures. (Senator Manuel "Lito" Mercado Lapid,
n.d.)
Celebrities turned politicians that served a position in the Philippine Government truly
made an impact on the Philippines. Their policies and actions or lack thereof influenced the laws
that govern the Filipino masses. The power that these celebrity-politicians hold is extremely huge
and their decisions can affect a whole nation.
V.

Conclusion

The power and influence of Filipino celebrities on the contemporary Philippine society is so
strong that their influence even extends to the realm of Philippine politics. The role of celebrities
to Philippine politics is undeniable and celebrities have proved to be instrumental in a lot of

Filipino politicians campaign. The usage of celebrities as tools for campaign by politicians is
just one of their impact and roles in Philippine politics.
There have been cases in the Philippines that the celebrities themselves ran for office and
won. The combination of their appeal to the public, constant exposure to mass media, and the
media culture in the Philippines attribute to their successful political campaigns. As politicians
and government officials, celebrities have made a significant impact in shaping the government,
future and society of the Philippines. Celebrities hold a sizable power in deciding the nations
future. The power and influence of celebrities in the political arena is a force to be reckoned
with.

i http://www.gov.ph/about/gov
ii http://www.gov.ph/about/gov/the-legislative-branch/ http://www.gov.ph/about/gov/exec/

iii Finally Ariel retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dIjZImAyoKs

References:
Centeno, D. (2012), Celebrification mythologies : class and gender reading of celebrity endorsers in
political campaign advertisements
Manzaria, J. & Bruck, J. (n.d.), Media's Use of Propaganda to Persuade People's Attitude, Beliefs and
Behaviors
McQuail, Denis, (2010), McQuails Mass Communication Theory 5th Edition
Montenegro, (n.d.), PHL Internet Users now 38 million, 2014 retrieved from
http://www.gmanetwork.co m/news/story/380893/scitech/technology/phl-internet-users-now-38million-two-thirds-under-30-immap
"National Tally", (n.d), Retrieved from http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/eleksyon2010/nationalcount
Overview of the Economy, (n.d.),Retrieved from
http://www.nationsencyclopedia.com/economies/Asia-and-the-Pacific/Philippines-OVERVIEW-OFECONOMY.html
Painter, Joe & Jeffrey, Alex, (2009),

Political Geography, 2nd Edition

Pertierra, Raul, (2012), The New Media, Society & Politics in the Philippines
Philippine history, (n.d.),Retrieved from
http://www.philippinecountry.com/philippine_history/estrada_admin.html
Reyes, Che de los, (2010), Natl bets splurge P4.3B, local bets P162M on ads
Senator Manuel "Lito" Mercado Lapid, (n.d.), Retrived from
http://www.senate.gov.ph/senators/sen_bio/lapid_bio.asp

Scott, Kenneth (1933), Political Propaganda of 44-30 B.C

Shinde, Dr.Deepak M. & Yadav, Dr.Kailash Bhanudas, (2014), Mass Media Helps Multiculturalism
Teves, (2015), As Philippine congressman, Pacquiao seen as underachieving
Thompson, Mark (2010), Populism and the Revival of Reform: Competing Political Narratives in the
Philippines