AGAIN, several showbiz personalities are running for public office in next year’s elections. Former senators Jinggoy Estrada, Lito Lapid and Bong Revilla are only few of the showbiz personalities seeking Senate seats.
Locally, we have movie and television personality Richard “Sir Chief” Yap seeking a congressional seat in the Cebu City north district against the veteran, performer and hardworking representative Raul Del Mar.
Yap is the second showbiz personality to challenge the formidable Del Mar, who has been in the position for several terms since his first election after the Edsa revolution and the ratification of the 1987 Constitution. The first was talent manager and a Cebu native Annabelle Rama who lost by a big margin.
Politics and show business are two different things. Politics gives one the authority or power to formulate policies while show business provides entertainment. In the case of Yap, he is seeking a legislative position, not an executive one like a governor or a mayor. A legislator and an executive perform two different functions. Can Yap be effective in legislation?
I am not questioning Yap’s qualifications. He is also a native Cebuano. He grew up and took his elementary and secondary education here. He is well-educated. He may be popular because he is a movie and TV personality and the people, especially the youth, who have been following his teleserye, will feel “kilig” every time they see him. But the question is: can he convert his popularity into votes? Do the people know he is getting into politics now?
Political awareness is a key component in empathy, which in turn is part of emotional intelligence. Some political analyst have suggested that political awareness is about sensitivity to public policies. What I have learned from Barug PDP-Laban where Yap belongs is that he is only interested in running as a councilor in the north district. May be encouraged by the warm reception of the public because of his popularity, he now wants a seat in Congress. Basin naa poy naggalgal nga mag-kongresista na lang siya kay popular lagi.
Considering that he is a neophyte in the world of politics, it would be an uphill battle for him. Del Mar’s very satisfactory performance in terms of projects he poured into his district, the number of laws he has sponsored and the absence of graft and corruption issues against him will speak for themselves.
It would be a fight of performance versus promises. Naa na, makita na ang daghang agi ni Rep. Del Mar sama sa mga skywalks, flyovers ug kalsada ug ang iyang medical assistance nga daghang pobre ang nakabenipisyo. Samtang ang kang Sir Chief saad pa lang.
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There is no permanent friends and enemies in politics. What is permanent is the personal interest of the politicians. Consider this: mayoralty candidate Vice Mayor Edgardo Labella and his running mate Mike Rama were with Bando Osmeña Pundok Kauswagan (BOPK) before. Now, they are fighting their former political party’s chief, the former political has-been’.
Councilor Mary Ann de los Santos, who is running for vice mayor under BOPK, was with Barug Team Rama when she ran for councilor. Now, she is running against her former political chief, Mike. Rep. Gwen Garcia and Vice Gov. Agnes Magpale were considered “best friends forever (BBF)” when Gwen was still the governor and Agnes was with the Provincial Board. Now, they will slug it out for the gubernatorial position. They burned bridges after Gwen was suspended in her last term as governor and Agnes succeeded her.
In Mandaue City, Mayor Luigi Quisumbing and Rep. Jonas Cortes were political allies. In the 2016 elections, they swapped positions and joined forces against the Ouanos. Lolypop Ouano, who ran for mayor, was their common enemy. But look at them now. Luigi and Jonas are both running for mayor. And the erstwhile enemy, Lolypop, is now siding with Jonas.
Tan-awa ra ning politika, mga tawo ray gitinuntohan. Pagkatoytoy!