With a fine-tooth comb, one finds the bug that feeds on politics and vice versa. In short, showbiz is the opium of otherwise unknown politicians to propel their political ambitions. Sample cases are overwhelmingly commonplace, galvanizing the belief that blending showbiz and politics becomes the standard playbook. Since politics is largely a zero-sum game, this newfound strategy serves as a shortcut to political fortune, or the easy way in. 

Few instant examples may illustrate this view. We have Chiz and Heart, Ralph and Vilma, Kiko and Sharon — which partly explains their success in grabbing a Senate seat. Of course, Jinggoy, Robin, Tito, Lito — being famous showbiz people — are stand-alones who will always win a seat, hands down. 

Similarly, we have second-order celebrities like Risa, Loren, Raffy, Erwin, excluding dynasts like Imee, Koko and Bam (i.e., the Marcoses, Pimentels, Aquinos). Strangely, in the turbulent waters of politics, otherwise small boats become ghostly big ships that could navigate political waters on an even keel and flatten the waves. The “cult of personality” in all these given examples amplifies the frailty of human psychology for mobs, “ghettos,” tribes, swarms.

Not surprisingly, in front of crowds, fans and media, politicians in the company of actors and actresses become “promotional events.” And what’s good for the gander is good for the goose. Not a few congressional candidates — district and party-list alike — capitalize on the power of celebrities to attract large audiences in “meet and greets.”   

Thus, those who pair themselves with showbiz personalities catapult to sure victory. This triggers good “muscle memory” for otherwise unheard, unknown, outlier political wannabes. 

Once they cross the Rubicon, they then produce the next generation of political champions, rendering the electoral process entirely devoid of higher parametric value. Meritocracy in public service becomes a myth and in every electoral cycle, a slippery slope.

The euphoria, hypomania, joie de vivre, even diaspora created in the social lay of the land by this convoluted, twisted, and contrived marriage of showbiz and politics preserves a status quo resistant to change, rendering everything of political life in one way, shape, or form a curse from the unhinged, unlettered and uncouth. 

The burgeoning middle class becomes a weaker catalyst or purveyor of much-vaunted public sector reform. 

As election nears, social media is bustling with reels, vlogs, live videos, TikToks, posts of various typology (link, text, photo, event, group), status updates, memes, GIFS, ads, user-generated contents, polls, questions, guides, articles, multiple hashtags and messages. 

So long as Facebook’s so-called engagement metrics-–Like, Comment, Share — or how users interact with content of a platform remain permanent, they become useful for any politician’s popularity and reach. There are other metrics that serve as “social media marketing” tools as those that seek the desired user’s response as Follow, Subscribe, Visit Group, Book Now, Contact Us, Watch Now, Sign Up, Join and so forth. Cabinet secretaries tend to make their online posts for their own self-serving political ads under the guise of public affairs bulletins. The defense chief could be a classic example in this regard. 

In sum, as a good mountaineer says, viz: “We climb because the mountains are there.” In the same breath, aspiring candidates climb the popularity chart, preferably with the aid of well-known celebrities. Others achieve popularity only by accident as in the case of a known radio-TV broadcaster whose program appears to be likely designed to become viral. 

In fact, in some comparative sense, trending videos are better than high ratings in surveys. At least one could easily go viral for free, whereas to score a higher rank in the survey charts, others have to pay some fees or even hire spin doctors. Recall how newcomer Sen. Rodante Marcoleta got an amazing slot without being previously seen in survey radar screens.