“What star-studded?†Tomas Osmeña asked reporters during a press conference when he was asked for his reaction on Team Rama's star-studded rally. He said Tommy is a star and Margot is, too.
Last Saturday, the Team Rama did have a star-studded rally. Celebrities from Manila, not to mention the Gutierrez family, came to grace the event. Eddie Gutierrez sang an Elvis Presley hit. His and Annabelle Rama's grandchild, Venice Bektas made some cute comments.
Now Rama is challenging Osmeña to top the 30,000 people who attended the Team Rama rally.
Numbers, however, remain only numbers. It is the votes that make a difference. It is possible that the people who attended the rally were there for the celebrities. It is said that the way to tickle the Filipino's interest is through entertainment because we are a happy people.
Grand rallies are not about the stars that share the stage with the politicians to provide entertainment. Nor is it about the catchy jingles that they dance to onstage.
In a study conducted by the University of the Philippines Communication Research Department during the 2010 presidential elections, only 10 percent of first time youth voters say that celebrity endorsers influence their vote while the rest rely on the house to house campaign or barangay pulong-pulong, which is what the BOPK has been doing since the start of the campaign period.
We are caught up with the theatrics of advertising and the reality of the politicians' motives. But we can choose to process the messages that they relay to us. A theory in communication called selective process proves that we can be smart enough to think twice about what we say and hear.
Then we must be critical when it comes to the choices we make. Stars can only do so much to entertain and persuade but the real change lies in those who will be seated in power. Once in office, there will be no more jingles, no more dances, no more rallies. When we attend campaign rallies or pulong-pulongs, we must pay attention to the candidates' plans for a better Philippines, not their gimmicks.
This year's midterm election is exciting. Candidates are trying their best to outwit their competition while the media closely keeps watch. At the same time, concerned citizens are fighting for a clean election side by side with the COMELEC.
There are a lot of things that can happen in a month, things that can change public opinion. What we can do as citizens is to be vigilant about the statements that candidates release against their opponents and to the people. Then we would know who deserves the seat.
Forget about the stars and the gimmicks. Let us be hopeful that the elections would bring light to our country.