In ‘City of Stars,’ celebs bring glitter to local race

A star glittered over the village of West Riverside in Quezon City one Wednesday night.

For a moment, the residents — mostly dressed in tattered clothes and plain slippers — thought they can finally find out what it was like to see and hear a real, live star in their midst.

But it vanished as soon as it appeared.

“Nasaan na si vice mayor? Bakit biglang nawala?" said one surprised resident when Quezon City Vice Mayor Herbert Bautista, Liberal Party (LP) mayoralty bet, this coming polls, left a sortie in their area only a few minutes after he arrived.

NOW YOU SEE HIM, NOW YOU DON'T. Liberal Party Quezon City mayoral bet Herbert Bautista has remained silent on accusations of incompetence hurled towards him by his rivals. Andreo Calonzo

Bautista, a former actor who played the role of Quezon City vice mayor for the past nine years, showed how comfortable he was onstage during his brief appearance at the sortie.

He cracked a few green jokes, led his slate into dancing to the tune of his campaign jingle and gave an entertaining speech before the obviously star-struck residents.

Joy Belmonte, Bautista’s running mate and daughter of incumbent Quezon City Mayor Feliciano Belmonte, Jr., even talked about Bautista’s private life to engage the crowd during her speech.

She asked the audience to enumerate female celebrities who were linked to Bautista, to which the crowd willingly gave answers.

In contrast, when the younger Belmonte asked the people about Bautista’s accomplishments during his 15 years in the city government, the rowdy crowd went silent.

“Kapag tinanong ang love life mo, alam na alam. Kapag tungkol sa mga nagawa mo, tahimik," the LP vice-mayoral bet quipped.

Lackluster performance?

Bautista’s lackluster public service record may be something his running mate takes lightly.

But Bautista’s most vocal rival, former Cabinet member and Quezon City Rep. Michael “Mike" Defensor, has a different opinion.

Bautista “has done nothing" in his three years as city councilor, and another twelve years as vice mayor, says Defensor, who is running under the People's Reform Party.

“Sa tagal na sa gobyerno, wala siyang nagawa na kahit anong programa. Binuhos lang niya ang pondo sa pagkain at painom. On the basis of his office’s budget, he could have done so much," said Defensor in a phone interview with GMANews.TV.

(His long government stint has brought no programs. Instead, he merely spent funds on food and drink.)

Another mayoralty aspirant, independent candidate John Charles Chang, likewise questioned Bautista and the rest of the Quezon City government’s use of funds — a big chunk of which comes from the city’s high rate of tax collection and revenue generation.

“Ang Quezon City ay isa sa pinakamayayamang lungsod sa bansa, pero ang daming mahihirap… Mas malaki ang taxes ng Quezon City kaysa sa Makati. Saan napupunta ang pera natin?" Chang said.

(Quezon City is one of the wealthiest cities in the country. However, there are still lots of poor people. Quezon City collects more tax revenues than Makati [the Philippines’ premier financial district]. Where does all that money go.)

Despite these issues, Bautista has remained silent.

The former actor, who was so used to flashy lights and cameras before, has frequently evaded the media throughout his campaigns when asked about his rivals’ accusations.

In one television interview, all Bautista can say about the allegations is a succinct “I don’t want to talk about it."

However, Defensor is unhappy with the silent treatment.

He dared Bautista to prove that he is more than just a celebrity riding his popularity as a former television and movie star and as the incumbent mayor’s anointed one.

“I have no problem with him [Bautista] being a celebrity. He just needs to prove that he is not just banking on popularity," he said.

Star-studded campaign

Bautista is not the only celebrity candidate in Quezon City faced with such a challenge.

The “City of Stars," in fact, has the most star-studded local campaigns for the May polls, data gathered by GMA News Research said.

Of the 109 celebrities seeking electoral posts, 15 are running for positions in the Quezon City government.

It is only in this city where celebrities run in all electoral positions — from district representative to city council members.



These stars vying for electoral posts in the country’s largest city in terms of population come in different shapes in sizes: from a former sexy star and beauty queen to gay radio anchor and comedian.

However, these celebrities have one thing in common: their capacity to draw crowds.

Defensor himself admitted that he benefits from the star power of his runningmate, actress Aiko Melendez.

He said Melendez “complements" his campaign with a mix of mass appeal and political experience.

“Malakas talaga ang hatak niya sa baba, sa masa. In a way, we are complementing each other, since she has been a councilor for a long time," he said.

Not all candidates are happy with the star-studded Quezon City campaigns, though.

Independent bet Henry Samonte, for example, said he feels outshone by some of his rival’s star power.

“Ordinaryong tao lang po ako. Kaya lang ako pumasok sa pulitika kasi sumusobra na po ang gobyernong ito," he said in one forum.

Aside from former Quezon City Mayor Ismael Mathay Jr. and Quezon City Rep. Mary Ann Susano, two other candidates for mayors are relatively unknown: independent bets Roberto Sombillo and Engracio Icasiano.

Platforms over popularity

The campaigns in Quezon City may be the most stellar, but voters from the country’s former capital seem to put little weight whether a candidate is a personality or not.

Housewife Rose Torres said regardless of whether a candidate is a celebrity or not, all those seeking for electoral posts in the city are after one thing: Quezon City’s big budget.

“Wala naman akong masama sa mga artista, pero malaki ang budget ng Quezon City. Ke artista o hindi, they are all running for the budget," she said.

(There’s nothing basically wrong with actors and actresses running for public office. But since Quezon City’s budget is big, whether they’re all personalities or not, they’re after that.)

Torres, however, believes that star power has really played a huge part in her city’s politics.

“Kung pagkapresidente nga nanalo ang artista, salocal positions pa kaya?" she said, referring to former President Joseph Estrada, the first ever movie actor to be elected to the country’s top post.

For 64-year-old Ludy Bustos, the Quezon City local elections should go beyond being a popularity contest.

“For me, platforms really matter. Personality is secondary. I hope the ones who will be elected can utilize the city’s resources wisely, so that the residents will benefit, especially the poor ones," she said


David Mikael Taclino
Inyu Web Development and Design Creative Writer

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