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Election Dirty Tactics in the Philippines

2013-05-08T09:16:00.004-07:00

Election is a hot topic in my country and I wanted all people to know what is happening during and after the election and after that I will be back with my regular posting.

Campaign period is almost over and that why politicians are doing all they can to campaign and be noticed by its constituents, but for those who wanted an easy win, they let a bullet seal their win. Just recently a mayoralty candidate was shot during his campaign speech and no one has any idea who the gunmen were.

Also read:
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Assasination is the dirtiest tactic in Philippine election. Many elections has passed but still people get killed just for the sake of winning a seat in the government. No matter how our government put an effort to end election violence there seems no solution to it.

Besides violence there are also election related dirty tactics in the Philippines, here are some of it:

Vote buying

[image: pcv.com.ph]

This is probably the most common dirty tactics during election. Politicians hire "team leaders" to give money on the voters. These people usually appear on the day before the election, roaming at midnight and early in the morning. They carry a huge bag full of money with stickers of the candidate then give it to the voter in return of promising to vote their candidate. Team leaders are scattered in different barangays and municipalities, they are usually known in their own barangay so that people will trust them easily.

Campaign materials removing

Politicians will do anything to get noticed and one of the easiest way to do that is flood the whole town with their own campaign materials. But you are not the only one doing that, that is why some are backlashing others campaign materials to replace it with their own. These people are paid to remove or paint campaign materials of their political opponent.

Assasination

[image: Philstar.com]

As I have mentioned above this is the deadliest among election dirty tactics. Politicians in desperate to win hires hitmans to do their dirty work. If you notice this country is full of political dynasties and behind those families are mercenarries, ready to kill for money. Candidates who are trying to clash with a dangeroues politician often gets threatened or worse, get killed.

Flying voters

In the Philippines the dead can still vote, yes! they can, thanks to flying voters. They are people using names of the dead and pretends to be them during election. Flying voters are used by politicians so that they can vote many times on different precincts.

Television brainwashing

Campaigning on TV might not be a dirty tactic, but to some it is unfair because only the rich can afford to advertise themselves on national television. It is also a way to brainwash audience on their political motives and platforms. Most of the things they promise are all lies and very unlogical, I will give a sample:

Bam Aquino has said:

Sisiguraduhin ko na lahat ng Filipino may trabaho. Lahat may negosyo. (I will ensure that all Filipinos will have a job and a business).

This is very unrealistic, because there is no country that has zero unemployment rate and by giving all people a job could promote child labor and if everyone has business there will be no worker.

This words promised by Mr. Aquino is misleading and unrealistic.

Another negative effect of too much TV advertising is dictating the winners based on surveys, it may not be accurate but surveys plays a big role in a candidates chance of winning because it influences voters on whom to vote. A politician usually won based on popularity and not on skills, personal achievenents or credibility to become a leader.

An example is Nancy Binay, daughter of Vice President Jejomar Binay, she is being criticized for her lack of achievements and skills as senatorial candidate. She didn't attend any senatorial debate on national TV and she even admit that she only run as Senator because her daddy wants to. But besides her lack of credibility she is very popular on surveys, she even ranked number 3.

I can't blame TV stations for advertising politicians, because it is still business. In fact ABS-CBN earned more than a billion on political advertisements alone, wow!

Personal sabotage

If you can't beat them with your platforms, why not sabotage their personal life. In the Philippines personal sabotage is a common dirty tactic, by doing some black propaganda against your opponent you can destroy their morale as well as what people see on them. These politicians usually digs a hole on the opponents personal life, whether its about their family background, past cases, corrupt practices, they expose them instead of giving the people their clear platforms. They give people the reason not to vote this candidate.

These are just some of the political dirty tactics in the Philippines, if you happen to know some kindly share on the comments below.

Is the Philippines really rich during the time of Pres. Marcos?

2013-04-18T19:54:00.000-07:00

I like joining conversations on forums sites such as yahoo.ph, and one of the most debated topic is the question that "is really the Philippines rich during the time of late President Marcos?". A lot of people are giving small information about the Marcos achievement during that time, and so is the anti Marcos, who denies those facts and declaring it the darkest time in Philippine history especially the Martial Law victims.

[image: panoramio.com]

The Bataan Nuclear Power Plant, a project accomplished by Marcos but wasted by the next Presidents. If fully functioned, it could decrease our Electronic rates from 20%-40%. A project that Marcos entrusted to Cory Aquino before he died, he said that if the power plant will not be used, he predicted 20 years from then, the Philippines will become one of the poorest country in Asia. A prediction that became true.

I was born in the year 1986, the year where Martial law has ended, but my young age doesn't restrict me from knowing the truth from the past. I watched and read documentaries from freelance journalist on Martial law and compare them to the one I see on National TV. I even ask old people what is was like during those time.

I remember one day, I asked my aunt what was their lives during the Marcos era, is it hard? do soldiers grab people and put to jail without reason? I asked the questions related to the abuse by the Marcos government based on what I see on national TV. But she replied, No, there were no abuses on their province. She remembered very well that there are parts on each city that there is a feeding program everyday, we call it "bulgur", a rice based soup packed with vitamins and minerals. It was said to be implemented because the President wanted the next generation to be not malnourished and smart. But sad to say, there are no feeding programs like that today.

Also read:
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I also experienced a bit of the "Marcos touch", remembered it very well when I was about 4 years old, a former crony of Marcos was the Mayor of my hometown. And it was beautiful compared today, our small town has a huge swimming pool in front of the capitol hall with dolphins in there where you can feed them as you like, across the pool is a mini Disneyland where kids can really enjoy and have a good time. But since the end of the Marcos power and so is the end of our beautiful town, corruption is now trending. Our once beautiful pool is now a place for prostitutes, snatchers, and rugby boys. I don't know what really happened, time has changed so fast.

Our country is on a downfall since then, and if you wonder is the Philippines really rich during those time, here are some facts that might prove it is indeed true.

President Ferdinand Marco and his accomplishments:

Richest in Asia, second to Japan
First country to have an Airport in South East Asia
First country in Asia to have a Train
Number 1 in the world in Rice and Sugar exporting
There are no illegal drugs, you can't even drink and get drunk on the streets
There are only a few OFW's because the government is self sufficient with jobs
Foreigners can't own a land property
Peso to US dollar, $1=P1.50
The only President that doesn't use written speech
Only President who defends himself on the court without the use of an attorney
Only President who is a world war II veteran

He also made some accomplished projects without promising it to the Filipino people

Manila International Airport (Now NAIA)
LRT-1, a first in southeast Asia
Heart Center of the Philippines
Nayong Pilipino
Kidney Center
Bataan Nuclear Power Plant
PICC
Philippine Lung Center
Golden Mosque for Muslim
Folk Arts Theater
SLEX and NLEX, a first in southeast Asia
San Juanico Bridge

These accomplishments are still being used by the Presidents who followed. But sad to say some of these projects are forgotten, if used wisely it could benefit this country.

Also read:
EDSA revolution: The downfall of a Nation

I keep wondering about the accomplishments of past Administrations, and none has come even close even if you combine them all.

Now, if you ask me if the Philippines was rich before, my answer is a concrete YES!

Is Everyone Generally Nicer to Attractive People?

2013-04-16T03:12:00.001-07:00

Are you good looking?,

If so, are other people always nice to you?

If you ask me those questions, I think I will go with yes. Looks is very important when interacting with other people, it is what we see on the person first rather than on his attitude or personality.

I live in a community where looks is what people mostly see first in a person, If he/she is good looking and not fat, it will make an impression that they are honest, and can easily be trusted.

There are some factors that attractive people can get ahead compared to below-average looking people, here are some.

Daily Life

I have seen experiments between two individuals who are good looking and the other one are a bit looked like shriek. They were tasked to pretend and borrow a mobile phone from random individuals to see which of the two can borrow a mobile phone for texting easily. After hours of doing the experiments, Snow white got a perfect score and done the task easily, while Shriek got only a 50-50 chance.

Attractive people can easily get discounts on different businesses especially "ukay ukay"(dried goods clothing) and the fish market. Even if they do something stupid, they still can get away with it.

Career

The experiment not only applies to random situations but also in career. Based on a study, attractive people are hired sooner, get promotions quickly and has higher chance of success compared to their less-good looking co- workers.

Attractive people also earns more than 3%-4% more than those who are less attractive according to Daniel Hammerhesh, professor of economics at the University of Texas and author of the book "Why attractive people are successful".

And of course, in the Entertainment Industry, its always the good looking one who gets the big role on films and TV shows, compared to an average looker who only gets the side kick role or the guy who always gets butt kicked.

Relationships

When it comes to love life, attractive people usually gets the apple while the less-average looking person gets the Santol. Looking for a partner is very easy for good looking people, and they can get what they want especially if you are rich and popular.

Looks is very important on a relationship, probably because it plays an important role to sex. Yes, that's right! People gets excited if they are about to make love to a good looking one.

But in my observation, appearance is not really important in a relationship, I have seen lots and lots of relationship between two attractive people gone bad. Personality and attitude is still the most important factor in a relationship.

Final Thought

It may be an advantage to look like Brad Pitt or as Hot as Victoria Justice but looks doesn't necessarily means success. In my personal point of view, the good looking ones are sometimes the hardest to get along with, they have short tempers and most of all, they are "snub".

If looks gets in the way for your success just ask yourself first this; is Lebron James good looking? Does Oprah has a body of a Halle Berry? Is Mick Jagger or Eddy Van Halen are as cute as Justin Beiber? It may be a silly question but its true that looks are not that important when it comes to having a happy life.