Black prop, presidential ambition distract voters

MANILA, Philippines - Black propaganda, unsubstantiated allegations, and unabashed declarations of presidential ambition are wasting the ongoing senatorial campaign as these distract voters from relevant issues, political analysts said yesterday.

In separate interviews, Ateneo De Manila University (ADMU) professor Benjamin Muego and University of the Philippines vice president for public affairs Prospero de Vera discussed how politicians and their groups often resort to demolition jobs to gain advantage over their rivals.

Ramon Casiple, executive director of the Institute for Political and Electoral Reform (IPER), mentioned the “forward-looking” motivations of some senatorial candidates.

Muego cited the case of re-electionist Sen. Francis Escudero, who was embroiled in a controversy involving his girlfriend Heart Evangelista and her family.

“Given the quality and predilections of the Philippine electorate, black propaganda or salacious and unsubstantiated allegations are at the very least, bound to deflect public attention away from the real and important considerations such as the real – as opposed to the sham –educational/professional backgrounds of the candidates, and where applicable, their legislative track records,” he said.

The political science professor said a candidate’s personal or private life, “unless those activities are of such a scandalous and egregious nature as to pose an actual or potential threat to public order and national security,” should not be an issue in a political campaign.

“Sadly, the innocent victims of this no-holds-barred type of political combat are the families and loved ones of the candidate, such as Heart Evangelista and the Escudero children, who are totally blameless,” he said.

Muego said the issue apparently was part of a demolition job timed to inflict damage on Escudero’s re-election bid.

As a result, there were “indirect beneficiaries” to Escudero’s decline in the surveys including Team PNoy senatorial candidates Alan Peter Cayetano and Cynthia Villar, Nancy Binay and Joseph Victor Ejercito Estrada of the United Nationalist Alliance (UNA).

For his part, De Vera said such negative campaigning has long been part of Philippine politics that some candidates now maintain their own “black propaganda units” and utilize technologies such as “text blasters” to besmirch their rivals’ reputation.