Thursday, May 06, 2004
Bad guys, stuntmen and showbiz on campaign trail (9:35 a.m.)
MANILA--Elvis Presley rose again and drove through Memphis in an open-topped Cadillac, he would know how Fernando Poe Junior feels in the slums of Manila.
The country’s famous film star and opposition candidate for president did not speak and rarely smiled. But his mere presence triggered scenes that began as euphoria and veered close to hysteria.
Tens of thousands of people spilled onto the roadsides or climbed onto rooftops in the Mandaluyong district on Wednesday to catch a glimpse of the stocky idol they know and love simply as "Da King".
As his convoy snaked past fetid sewers and shanties squeezed under bridges or between railway lines, bare-foot children jostled with full-grown men and mothers carrying naked babies in a scramble to touch the hand of Poe.
Shops emptied, workers downed tools and main highways ground to a halt as drivers abandoned their vehicles to scream, shout, sob, wave or just grin.
"FPJ, FPJ, FPJ" roared the crowd as Poe and two acting buddies hurled sweets and T-shirts into the chaotic throng, where the simple trophies were treated like Oscar statues.
One woman caught a shirt and started weeping and shaking uncontrollably. A teenager took a one-handed catch and set off on a 100-metre (-yard) victory dash with fists pumping the air. A taxi driver smashed his front bumper as he grappled with a sweet wrapper.
"What you see is smiles, and smiles are votes," veteran film star Paquito Diaz, who made his name playing the bad guys opposite Poe's Robin Hood-style heroes, said.
Eddie Garcia, a suave matinee idol who specializes in corrupt judges and womanizing police officers, put it another way. "He stands for change, he is honest."
Poe, 64, who left school at 15 and has no experience of government, is more about showbiz than politics. His aides are film stars and his bodyguards are stuntmen, some riding Harley Davidson motorbikes.
Looking tired and hiding behind dark glasses, Poe is running on pure celebrity. He makes no promises and offers no solutions, but his celluloid persona strikes a chord with poorer voters, around half of whom live on less than two dollars per day.
"I will vote for FPJ because he always tries his best, and he is much better than the rest," said 26-year-old Eduard Annonuevo, a part-time stuntman.
He praised his would-be president as a man of the people who likes nothing better than to challenge his aides to arm wrestling competitions. "We usually let him win."
Just as Arnold Schwarzenegger is The Terminator, so Poe is "Panday" or The Ironsmith, a working class hero who strikes down challengers with a giant sword modelled on King Arthur's Excalibur which sometimes appears at rallies.
Much of Poe's political language is from the silver screen. His campaign slogan is "The Country is the Star" and he peppers his few election speeches with one-liners.
In an echo of Clint Eastwood's Dirty Harry he warns opponents: "It takes just one bullet". At one rally he playfully threatened the government against cheating: "Do that, and you won't live to see the sun rise again."
In a country in love with celebrity which elected Poe's close friend and fellow movie star Joseph Estrada as president in 1998, analysts say Poe has a genuine if outside chance of winning Monday's election.
The latest opinion polls give Poe around 31 percent of the vote, several points behind incumbent Gloria Arroyo. But analysts warn the race is tight and unpredictable.
Away from the barrios the prospect of a Poe victory appalls much of the elite and business community. They fear it will bring instability and drive off investment, possibly leading to a military coup.
But Poe supporters play down the doomsday scenario.
"FPJ is a successful man, a millionaire," Manila vice mayor Danny Lacuna said. "He knows what he is doing." (AFP) |
