Election in the Philippines (Essay Sample)

Election in the Philippines

Politics in the Philippines is very complicated. Politicians use many kinds of gimmickry to put their name across the country to gather voters. Every election in the Philippines, the country seems to active; too many things seem to be happening: from mindless banter to violence. The Philippines is known for how politics in the country can be very personal. Politicians attack other politicians to a personal level and all these are witnessed by the country and are sometimes perceived as entertainment for its pettiness.

During campaign, candidates use many gimmicks. Those who have enough funds afford to be in commercials on primetime television. Some even get to the point of showing their political ads by the hour. In the Philippines, a 30 second ad can cost up to hundreds of thousand pesos. In light of this, it is easy to say that politicians are able to do gimmicks as long as they have the funds. Those who are part of the main political parties campaign as one slate which is bound together by the same set of beliefs, interests, motivations and platforms. For independent candidates, these are politicians who usually don’t agree with the platforms of the major political parties. Usually, independent candidates tend to be tagged as dissenters.

When it comes to tactics and strategies, streets are filled with different people wearing different colors representing specific politicians distributing pamphlets and reminding people who to vote for. The campaign season is also the time when the roads are filled with cars with flags and banners with faces of different politicians. There also mini-vans with speakers spouting names of politicians as well as songs of campaign. There is no time like election time in the country. Behind this great energy, election in the Philippines is also filled with controversy and is sometimes tarnished with numerous cases of killings. Many voters, both in the cities and provinces are sometimes succumb to vote buying. People are given certain amounts of many to make sure that they vote for certain candidates. Obviously, this is an illegal act but somehow, people who commit it continue to get away with it. Aside from this, there are also cases of flying voters and ghost voters. The commission on elections has a list of registered voters and flying/ghost voters are voters who may sometimes be made up. Up to now, these discrepancies still come up. Back in early 2000s, the Philippine president at the time was caught cheating in the presidential elections. Unfortunately, nothing was done to the president and she went on to continue her term. All that she gave the public was an insincere apology that caused the country to be subjected to even greater turmoil. Putting this aside, the Philippines is also notorious for having deadly politics. In 2010, a massacre in the province of Maguindanao in the country left more than 50 individuals dead, mostly journalists. They were massacred by the leading political dynasty of the province and up until now, justice still isn’t served. During the country’s election period, there are many cases of shootings and killings all because of the pressure of politics.

The dynamics of Philippine politics and elections mirror the true condition of the country. In the Philippines, politicians scramble on their feet and attempt to spend the last of their fortunes just to win a position. When they win, usually, their promises just vanish into the air. This is a simple explanation of why the Philippines is still in turmoil and there is a lot to be improved and developed. The Philippines have many politicians yet there are still no real leaders visible.

related articles