"Madali lang tumakbo. Paano kung manalo?"
- Dolphy
Jamby Madrigal has that distinct ability to effortlessly hurt other people's feelings in the most minimal of sentences. "I have seen the folly of my ways," she said during the Inquirer debate at UP. This, when she was asked to respond to charges that she herself had once upon a time shamelessly utilized celebrity fairy-dust. Under her employ during campaign season circa 2004 had been Judy Ann Santos, box office princess, whose admission of hurt over Madrigal's statement made primetime headlines. "Next time na may i-e-endorse ako," the actress said, "kikilatisin ko muna mula ulo hanggang paa." Madrigal has since apologized to Juday (though not in person), explaining that she was simply making patutsada against Villar. But is there any other way at reading "I have seen the folly of my ways."
Bill Clinton once said: "Politics is like show business, only with ugly people." You can't get any uglier than this display of ingratitude from someone who was a relative unknown during the 2004 elections. But bolstered by superstar power plus a jingle infuriatingly dumber and still more evil than "Dagat ng Basura" ("Ja-ja-ja-Jamby!"), Madrigal is now a member of the senate and a trash-talking presidential contender.
Politics and showbiz go together like the Malabanan family and sewage. Villar's radical shaving of Aquino's lead is credited to non-stop ad placements and use of bigshot celebrities. In the headlines a few weeks back was the thorny issue of the Comelec proposing that celebrities choose between their jobs and their candidates. Less than a week after, Comelec was singing a different tune, and even asked for the help of artistas in its voter education drive–although the Sex Bomb Dancers already beat them to it with "May Bilog na Hugis Itlog." But it was Mo Twister's disastrous interview with sexy star Ara Mina–who's running for councilor in QC– that showed yet again a shockingly unflattering side of her ilk.
The Sexbomb Dancers' video "May Bilog na Hugis Itlog"
This ought to force us to examine more closely the underlying context at hand. Electoral exercises in our corner of the planet are not scenes for ground wars–they happen more in the ozone of mass media and technology. As such, it's the nature of the medium. It's a market-driven exercise, and who are better vendors–or cockfighters and athletes–than those who appear on television, right?
"Notwithstanding their less than brilliant electoral performance, celebrity candidates are here to stay," concluded Gladstone Cuerteros of the Institute for Popular Democracy (IPD) in the article Celebrity Politicians: How They Fared. "More celebrities ran in 2007 than in 2004 and their 40+ percent winning average is nothing to trifle with. Until political parties can seriously perform their role in recruiting new blood, new politicians from their ranks, being a celebrity will always be an avenue in entering the enticing and complex world of Philippine politics."
