‘Strange bedfellows’ no more

 “Turn on to politics, or politics will turn on you.”

—Ralph Nader

 

By Alex P. Vidal

 

IT’S understandable for Iloilo Governor Arthur “Toto” Defensor Jr. and Vice Governor Christine Garin to unite under one political roof for their reelection bid in the May 9, 2022 local election. 

In politics, it’s called a “strange bedfellows.”

They have no choice. 

The union should be for the benefit of Iloilo province, not for any political party or padrino.

Aside from a weak opposition, there are no other viable candidates for governor who can mount a serious challenge against the incumbent.  

Defensor’s first term practically was spent mostly during the nightmarish pandemic, thus the sordid situation has helped him make a good account of himself as a “performer.”

During the pandemic, Ilonggos had no time to dabble in politics as they grappled with the colossal economic gloom to survive.

There were no controversies and exposes in the media and in the Sangguniang Panlalawigan. 

Everybody was busy making both ends meet and dodging the COVID-19.

Defensor had an easy home run.

 

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THERE are candidates in the Philippine election who firmly believe their chances of winning hinges on how effective the trolls or social media flamethrowers they hired not primarily to deodorize their image, but specifically to destroy their political rivals.

Never mind if their platform of government, their plans and programs will be muted or set aside during the campaign, the most important is their trolls or social media flamethrowers will succeed in zeroing in on the “sins” of their political opponents.

In most cases, these “sins” of their rivals are fabricated or scripted in order to justify their vilification and south of the border offensive. 

The fad in the social media where these trolls or mercenaries thrive is to destroy, destroy, and destroy rather than to promote, to educate, and to explain.

The main goal is confusion and mayhem. 

Once their political opponents are dropped on all fours and crippled by the incessant and brutal attacks by the trolls and social media flamethrowers, candidates who hired these trolls and social media flamethrowers will think it may no longer be necessary to buy votes. 

The candidates are aware of the social media’s awesome power to influence, brainwash, and destroy.

 

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Thus the social media nowadays is becoming uglier, dirtier, bloodier with all the morbid accusations, innuendos and half truths flying thick and fast “live” and “shared” multiple times.

Radio stations don’t have anymore the monopoly of “blocktime” political programs; they used to rake in millions of pesos in revenues derived from political “blocktime” programs.

Today, social media is giving the mainstream radio stations a run for their money during the political season.

Any Facebook, Twitter or TikTok user can earn money by selling their accounts to politicians to slander and torment political opponents.

Before the advent of social media, candidates competed for the voters’ attention through competence, qualifications, programs, intellectual prowess, sincerity, character, spirituality, values through the mainstream media.

Today, some of the moneyed candidates’ primordial priority is to bankroll a large amount from their campaign funds to finance and sustain their trolls and social media flamethrowers.

(The author, who is now based in New York City, used to be the editor of two dailies in Iloilo—Ed)