I remember back in 2014, Lito Banayo  showed me a presentation prepared by a staff of Mr. Bong Go. The objective was to test public reaction to a possible Duterte candidacy in the 2016 elections. 

I remember thinking that it was an interesting proposition. Finally, a Mindanaon candidate that could really represent the interests of the region!  

After what Lito showed me. I drew up a budget and told him that, for the right kind of exposure, you will need ₱40 million. But we found ways to trim it down to eight million – this is how we did it. 

 

Feeling the Pulse – is the PH ready for a Duterte Presidency?

We needed to gauge the pulse of the public. I turned the slideshow into a 30-second ad, and released it into three strategic areas: (1) Cagayan de Oro (CDO), (2) Iloilo/Bacolod, and (3) the Ilocos Region.

The choice of regional airing was intentional, because if we ran the ads in Manila, we will be spending for nationwide placements, which the already trimmed-down budget cannot afford. But there were other merits for choosing these places to air it.

CDO is an economic center in Mindanao that is quite different from Davao. We don’t need to know the pulse of Davao as that is Duterte’s baluarte; if we want to know the reaction of other Mindanaoans to Duterte, we need to check out CDO. In addition, Iloilo and Bacolod are strongholds of Senator Grace Poe and Mar Roxas, and Ilocos represents the Solid North and the Marcoses.

A fourth location, Cebu, was tapped, but we showed the material through social media only. 

 

A Changing Landscape

The reactions among the Ilocanos, Ilonggos, and the Kagayanons were mixed, but overall, they were favorable. 

I asked my broadcast contacts in CDO, Bacolod and Iloilo, Dagupan, Ilocos, and Baguio what they thought about the ads, and I got some good insights from their reactions. It was then that I realized that Duterte had a fighting chance if he decided to run. 

The data showed that people were intrigued by the idea of Duterte running for president, although they doubted that he would win. An overwhelming majority believed that Digong would change the political landscape. 

And change it, he did.

Looking back, I didn’t know that I was also at the cusp of something never before seen in Philippine politics – the rise of social media, and its role in changing the way political campaigns are conducted.

 

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