The middle class

Campaign spending

By this time of the campaign period, election candidates must have dug deeper in their campaign chests considering the high cost of everything from materials, to manpower, to transportation. Gone are the days of simple spending during election season.

Prior to day one of the official campaign period, aspirants were already spending much on their unofficial foray into campaigning that was aimed at sending feelers and introducing themselves to electorates. Its somehow letting people know of their ambition to get elected come May 2022.

These introductory activities such as meetings, caucuses and visits entail expenses such as tokens and giveaways. These seem as small items but then with their volume, may also cost much. Aspirants cannot avoid too the

When campaigning, candidates need their men and women to do the clean and dirty works. There are the think tanks, the movers and other workers who would work on for support of people who can promise their votes.

Political operators are not for free. They are likewise given their salaries. Despite the fact that they are indeed supporters of their candidates, they too need compensation for their muscle works.

Next on the list are the various campaign materials. The most popular of them all are the tarpaulin posters which are by this time covers many conspicuous places where they can be placed. Despite the need to adhere to the sizes of posters prescribed by the Commission on Elections, a lot of election candidates are using.

For the opulent politicians, they buy their own tarpaulin printers, giving them some savings in the long run. Machines and tarpaulin materials are now cheaper as compared to when they are merely introduced in the market.

The spending on campaign materials would be until election day as some would print and distribute sample ballots to voters for last minute chances of getting the vot es.

Campaign jingles are ubiquitously played in every streets and alleys. This is an effort of aspirants to their prospects for "name recall". Jingles are usually composed and recorded by artists for a fee. Showboats are the vehicles installed with loudspeakers and posters of candidates. They invade even the smallest sitio in the name of gathering more votes.

For a candidate seeking a city or municipal councilor position, a million pesos is definitely not enough to get elected. One needs several millions for a chance to win. If one is a mere laborer or simple worker, he most probably cannot wage a campaign due to the great expense entailed.

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In the old days, we used to spend time doing class analysis. We depicted the classes in the Philippines as akin to a triangle, with the majority of peasants and workers at the base. The workers and peasants are the masses who determine the path history will take. While the upper classes control the economy, they constitute the smaller portion of the population, the smaller upper tip of the triangle. While the middle classes are also smaller in number, they are crucial in tilting public opinion to those they favor.

Dividing the population into classes is also part of the methodology of surveys. They attach letters to classes, with the rich assigned the letter “A” and so on down the line. In the coming presidential election, former senator Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and Vice President Leni Robredo are engaged in a tugof-war for the sympathy of the masses. Marcos is the frontrunner in surveys but could not muster the crowds Robredo gathers routinely in her rallies.

From the start, Robredo has been the darling of the middle class, whose power is being strengthened by its control of current technology, or social media. The masses was the base of President Rodrigo Duterte, whose daughter Sara is the running mate of Marcos. No wonder Marcos initially got the support of some Duterte supporters among the masses. Their fanaticism of Duterte has been transferred to Marcos.

In the initial stages of the campaign, I actually questioned the theory about the middle class being able to tilt public opinion. Can the middle class sway the election in Robredo’s way? While the survey ratings initially barely moved, it now looks to me like they are now tilting toward Robredo. The survey numbers may not show this yet, but the Robredo momentum seems to be gaining traction in the crowds Robredo gathers in all regions.

This has worried the supposed to be also-rans because the presidential election seems to have become a two-way battle. The middle class has become very crucial to the Robredo campaign, turning the “pink movement” into a genuine people’s movement. Her campaign has left Isko Moreno, Panfilo Lacson and the others in the dust. Press conferences could no longer save them because the balance has tilted to Robredo.

I was one of those who thought a long time ago that the Robredo effort to unite the opposition was unnecessary. I felt that she should instead take the cudgels for the opposition on her own strength. To paraphrase a popular quote in the movie “Field of Dreams,” I thought then that she should rather go on with her candidacy and the people would come.

When Robredo early on trailed badly in the surveys, Lacson proposed a unification formula: They will run and whoever of them ranks highest in the initial polls will become the unified candidate. Robredo opposed that because it would be unfair to their supporters if they ran and then backed out.

Now that Robredo has gained momentum and has a better chance of defeating Marcos, they now want Robredo to withdraw her candidacy. Selfish.