Declining popularity of Legarda, Escudero, and others

Beleaguered Senator Legarda

Controversial Congressman Enrile

BY MORTZ C. ORTIGOZA

What is the common denominator among senatorial bets Loren Legarda, Chiz Escudero, Jack Enrile, and Gregorio Honasan on the race to the senate?

They have diminishing numbers of voters 21 days before the May 13 poll according to the April 20-22, 2013 survey of Pulse Asia.

The poll, with 1,800 respondents and with two plus and two minus margin of error, says that Legarda got 69. 3% in November 2012, 58% in January 2013, 56.7% in February 2013, 55.3% in March 2013, and 51.5% in April 2013. Escudero got 74.1% in November 2012, 54.3% in January 2013, 54.9% in February 2013, 51.5% in March 2013, and 48.3% in April 2013.
 Enrile got 53.2% for November 2012, 40.4% for January 2013, 36.6% for February 2013, 32.4% for March 2013, 27.2% for April 2013. Honasan got 44.9% for November 2012, 36.8% for January 2013, 37.9% for February 2013, 36.8% for March 2013, 27.9% for April 2013.
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Why all of a sudden Legarda and Chiz Escudero have bombarded the TV with their ads more than a month before the day of reckoning in May?:
 That was because of their declining popularity in Pulse Asia and its rival Social Weather Station.
TV, the most effective mode of communication to most of the people, has the most indispensable role in winning the election. It can reach even the far flung area the candidates failed to barnstorm.
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But a candidate’s presence on TV is not everything. A bet’s smart PR firm plays a crucial role how to win more voters. It needs gimmickry to get the attention of the voters up to the time they cast their votes. Just like former senator Vic Magsaysay employing popular actor Sir Chief (Richard Yap in real life who became famous in 2011 in the flick My Binondo Girl) to salvage his dying popularity. Because of that chutzpah on hiring Sir Chief, and paying tens of millions of pesos for TV ads, Magsaysay was at No. 12-17 of the latest Pulse Asia survey. His counterpart and looks alike Manong Ernie Maceda (who seems to be successful in winning the TB war than the TV war) could be wondering how Magsaysay flog the dead horse in him and landed at the Magic 12 in the polls.
The same gimmickry happened with senatorial wannabe Risa Hontiveros, whose advocacy on Reproductive Health Law and other high level discussion to solve what ails the country could not be appreciated by the ignorant bakya clad screaming masses, suddenly penetrated the Magic 12 (Ranked 12-17) at the latest Pulse Asia surveys Susmariosep, if her pro-RH stance could not bring her to places, her out of tones duet with the out of notes popular President P-Noy and her alampay (shawl) magic won her the affection of the hoi-polloi.
 So the lesson we can get on Propaganda 101 in the 2013 election: Winning the polls is no different to the sleight of hands done by David Copperfield and David Blaine.
Susmariosep, it only takes common sense to catapult a candidate to the masses’ hippo-campus.
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Oh by the way, don’t you know that a 30 second slot, just like whatPangasinan gubernatorial bets Nani Braganza and Amado Espino have been zealously doing lately, for the prime time ads in a local GMA-7 in Northern Luzon cost a candidate Php90,000. If Nani and Espino got six of them each everyday, geez that’s already an arm and a leg of fortune for a lower middle class family. But son of a gun, politics is a game for the moneyed. 
That’s why the Yanks have this expression: “Show me the money, baby!” 
 Here’s another one: A 30 second advertisement for national viewership for a senatorial candidate cost him/her half a million pesos according to Attorney Felipe Gozon, Chief Executive of GMA Network, Inc.
 In a news report senatorial bet Teddy Casino said that a 30 second slot ads in ABS-CBN for national viewership cost Php 500,000.
 A reporter of Bombo Radyo reacted to my earlier column “Block Time War Rages”.
 He said it was not true that the 30 minute block time in the morning prime time program availed by Espino and Braganza cost each of them Php18,000. “Our one hour discounted rate is Php 52,000. Each of these candidates availed everyday except Sunday of the block time to promote themselves and demolish their rival”.
You can read my selected columns at http://mortzortigoza.blogspot.com and articles at Pangasinan News Aro. You can send comments too at totomortz@yahoo.com).