Richard Heydarian says dynasties and the celebrity class combined have a near monopoly on national office. Bongbong Marcos, heir to the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos, is alternately revered and reviled in his bid for the presidency. Whether they uplift anything, family dynasties are treated as stars in the Philippine political firmament. As mayor, he's credited with uplifting the poor. MCCARTHY: Having earned a degree in public administration and a stint at Harvard, he talks up education in campaign ads. In fact, celebrity officeholders frequently go in for self-improvement, like Isko Moreno. MCCARTHY: Heydarian says they're not all decoration. Most of these people - they got the position, they sit there, but they are just like a decoration. But that doesn't necessarily mean they have the capacity to lead. LABINET: These people who are famous - because they are celebrities is the only reason why people will vote for them. Just as damaging are the offspring of political dynasties who run for high office. MCCARTHY: In fact, Labinet says celebrity candidates are weakening the country. HILDA LABINET: That is the failure of democracy in the Philippines. But 48-year-old Hilda Labinet has little use for celebrities. I believe he'll deliver because he was poor like me. There won't be people on the street anymore. MCCARTHY: Pacquiao said, if he wins, there won't be any poor, Barbosa says. The 56-year-old says he's voting for Manny Pacquiao.ĪNTONIO BARBOSA: (Non-English language spoken). MCCARTHY: Message received for street vendor Antonio Barbosa. UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: (Non-English language spoken). That's the message that Moreno and Pacquiao have been delivering. My program will be to make you rise together with me. WALDEN BELLO: Their message is, if I can make it, I can certainly help you make it. Sociologist Walden Bello, who's running for vice president, says because it's virtually impossible for the poor to rise in a society as stratified as the Philippines, their rags-to-riches story has unique appeal. The two use their personal histories to court the millions of Filipinos who live in poverty. Growing up poor adds to the celebrity sheen of both Moreno and Manny Pacquiao, raised by a single mom. MCCARTHY: In his two decades in politics, the Manila mayor has capitalized on his film star status, using his stage name Isko Moreno. He had a lot of difficulties, a lot of disappointments, but he went on. I mean, he doesn't dance, but he will dance. JOHN JOSEPH NITE: He was really, at a very young age, objective-oriented. Nite says his good looks and youth were only a part of his success. John Joseph Nite says his uncle discovered Moreno at a wake, plucking him from obscurity and landing him in show business. As a child of Manila's biggest slum, Moreno scavenged for food that his mother repurposed into family dinners. The 46-year-old's up-from-your-bootstraps bio is itself the stuff of movies.
MCCARTHY: Manila City Mayor Isko Moreno, now a presidential candidate, went from teeny-bopper star on television to making rom-coms. ISKO MORENO: (Singing) Don't tell my heart, my achy breaky heart. So in a strange fashion, you have celebrities presenting themselves as kind of a new force as, like, agents of change. RICHARD HEYDARIAN: So increasingly, you have celebrities, actors especially, you know, noontime show hosts are leveraging their popularity, and they turned it into political capital. Once he fell, entertainers rushed to join the fiesta of democracy that followed. Political analyst Richard Heydarian says celebrities translating their star power to political power is rooted in the dictatorship of Ferdinand Marcos and his abolishing of political parties. But Pacquiao can trade his spectacular fame as an athlete for support in the presidential ring. MCCARTHY: He lost - the final bout of a career crown with world titles in eight different weight divisions. UNIDENTIFIED ANNOUNCER #2: Final 10 seconds, fans standing on their feet.
REDUCE WHITE FLICKER PREMIERE PROFESSIONAL
Regarded as one of the greatest professional boxers of all time, Pacquiao took the plaudits and the punches. Manny Pacquiao, sitting senator, stepped into a Las Vegas boxing ring. UNIDENTIFIED ANNOUNCER #1: Fighting out of the blue corner, really needing no introduction, the world over.
JULIE MCCARTHY, BYLINE: Just weeks before declaring his candidacy for the presidency. NPR's Julie McCarthy reports on the popularity of celebrity candidates in the Philippines. A boxing legend, a former screen actor, a scion of one of the country's most powerful dynasties - the May 2022 election to succeed outgoing Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte promises to be a spectacle studded with star power.
0 kommentar(er)
