‘Bets emboldened by social media’

The so-called “trapos” or traditional politicians may no longer be the dominant force in the midterm elections in May 2019, but the political neophytes.

The Commission on Elections (Comelec) yesterday reported that many firsttime candidates with credible platforms are running for various elective positions in next year’s polls.

“Many unknowns have filed their certificates of candidacy, but even if they are first-timers in politics, they are well-organized, and some of them have very well-reasoned platforms,” Comelec spokesman James Jimenez said in an interview.

Unlike in past elections, Jimenez said the Comelec cannot just declare one a nuisance and remove the candidate from the official list for being obscure or unpopular.

“When you look at the list, you cannot just say, I don’t know this, this is a nuisance. It might not be a very good guide this time because many of the first-timers are well-organized, so that has to be taken into consideration,” he said.

Social media has emboldened the first time candidates to throw their hat into the political arena, according to Jimenez.

“I think many first-time candidates decided to run because they feel empowered, they feel now that they can stand in front of the people and be able to get as many votes as old and established politicians can with the use of social media,” he said.

Social media, Jimenez said, is expected to influence the people not only on whom to vote for in the coming elections, but also to participate and join the electoral race.

The Comelec spokesman added that the May 2019 midterm elections are likely to become the true social media elections in the country.