Star power fades in local elections

Guy and Pip are losing, and so are Bong and Lani.

Actor-turned-president Joseph Estrada may still be popular among his fans, but the Filipino voter appears starstruck no more.

Showbiz personalities are losing in their bids to win public office in the national and local elections.

And observers and armchair political analysts are blaming the election loss of the likes of Rudy "Daboy" Fernandez, Nora "Ate Guy" Aunor, Tirso "Pip" Cruz III, Phillip Salvador, Bong Revilla and Lani Mercado on the faded star of their former colleague Joseph Estrada.

Estrada, the former movie action star who used his underdog image to win the position of mayor, senator, vice president and president of the republic, saw how fleeting his matinee idol popularity was when his government lasted barely 30 months.

Now jailed on corruption charges, Estrada viewed this year’s election as a referendum of sorts to finally find out if the 10 million who voted for him in 1998 still stood by him.

His showbiz colleagues however appeared to have reaped the whirlwind of his scandal-wracked administration, aborted impeachment trial, and his subsequent arrest that spawned the so-called EDSA III and Labor Day riots.

Neither did it matter if one was loyal to the disgraced president.

Loyalists Fernandez and Salvador lost in the race for Quezon City mayor and Mandaluyong vice mayor, respectively, just as former Estrada buddies who turned their back on him during EDSA II – Aunor and Revilla – lost in their bid for the governorship of their home province.

Aunor could only get 20 percent of the votes in Camarines Sur, losing miserably to incumbent Gov. Luis Villafuerte. In Cavite, Revilla was thrashed by Rep. Ayong Maliksi, trailing by some 30,000 votes as of presstime.

Cruz III, who used to form a "love team" with Aunor in the ’60s, also lost in the vice mayoralty race in Las Piñas. Revilla’s wife Lani Mercado, on the other hand, trailed in the tallies for mayor of Bacoor town in Cavite.

Actor Edu Manzano, for his part, was lagging far behind Jejomar Binay in the race for mayor of Makati. Comedian Amay Bisaya was a poor fourth in the run for Manila vice mayor.

Bisaya’s fellow Marcos loyalist and radio commentator Rod Navarro landed in the 30s rung of the Senate race.

And novelty singer Regino "Vingo" Regino, one of the April boys, has the proverbial Chinaman’s chance to win a Caloocan City council seat.

Even basketball magic has lost its sheen, as former hardcourt referee Tito Varela came up short in his run for Caloocan City vice mayor.

The Erap syndrome did not affect all showbiz personalities, though.

Parañaque Mayor Joey Marquez nursed a slight edge over former Mayor Pablo Olivarez in initial tallies, while Aiko Melendez put to good use her curves for a council seat in Quezon City.

Comedians Cita Astals and Lou Veloso won another term in the city council of Manila. Ditto Darius "Apasionata" Razon in Mandaluyong.

And the vice mayor of Quezon City Mayor-elect Feliciano "Sonny" Belmonte Jr. seems almost certain to be one from tinsel town: Herbert "Bistek" Bautista is in a nip-and-tuck battle with incumbent Connie Angeles. –With Celso Amo, Nikko Dizon