The United States has Hollywood. India has Bollywood. Great Britain has the West End. The Philippines should consider having a metonym for its entertainment industry. Here’s a suggestion: the Philippine government.
The 2025 midterm elections will see approximately 30 celebrities entering the political race. Among them are neophytes Philip Salvador and Willie Revillame, both vying for a senate seat.
Meanwhile, running as reelectionists are action stars Lito Lapid and Bong Revilla. Boxing legend Manny Pacquiao and TV host Tito Sotto are also returning to the political scene.
Celebrities such as Vilma Santos-Recto and son Luis Manzano, Nora Aunor, and social media influencers Rosmar Tan and Deo “Diwata” Balbuena are among those who also filed their candidacies for local positions.
With their legacy and popularity, these well-known aspirants have already situated themselves at the forefront of the campaign season starting February.
This “celebrification” of Philippine politics has persisted for quite a while. Throughout the years, elections in the Philippines have gradually turned into a fan vote based on name recall instead of a selection based on competence and legal knowledge.
The Beginning
Understanding the current nature of celebrity politics in the Philippines necessitates a look into the past—a quick history lesson of hows and whens.
The first-ever celebrity to successfully venture into national politics was Rogelio dela Rosa in 1957. His career as one of the most sought-after actors in a span of two decades boosted his chances of winning a senate seat. However, the wave of successful political forays by celebrities, including Edgar “Kuya Eddie” Ilarde from variety show Student Canteen, slowed down when Ferdinand Marcos Sr. declared Martial Law, ushering in an era of one-man rule.
The restoration of democracy in 1986 also brought back celebrity politics nationwide. Among those celebrities who ventured into national politics during this period was Joseph “Erap” Estrada, an action star famous for his mostly Robin Hood-esque roles in more than a hundred films.
He parlayed his fame into politics, starting as a mayor and later becoming a senator. Eventually, he won a six-year term as vice president in 1992 before culminating his political career by winning the 1998 presidential elections in a landslide. Despite being ousted barely three years into his term, Estrada’s step-by-step ascent to the top paved the way for more celebrities such as Estrada’s close friend Fernando Poe Jr., who almost won the controversial 2004 elections, to follow suit.
Two decades after Estrada’s trailblazing feat, celebrities have become mainstays in local politics. At present, seven out of the 24 Philippine senators have direct or close ties to the media and entertainment industry. In fact, three of them—Robin Padilla, Loren Legarda, and Raffy Tulfo, even topped the 2022 senatorial elections.
With celebrity politicians occupying seats in both local and national posts, a new batch of celebrity aspirants may just also succeed in 2025.
Dr. Jean Encinas-Franco, a political science professor from the University of the Philippines (UP), says that the ongoing “celebrification” of politics can be attributed to the people’s preference for anti-establishment figures.
“The assumption is that Filipinos are ‘bobotante’, but in fact, it did not happen overnight. It happened because of our disillusionment with our traditional politicians,” she said.
Franco also noted that the rise of anti-establishment sentiment among the masses was mainly utilized by Rodrigo Duterte in his 2016 campaign to Malacañang. Although not a celebrity, Duterte ran as a populist, embodying the traits of the quintessential macho politician, which can now be observed through the presence of four action star-turned-senators in today’s congress.
Franco also added that name recall, good communication skills, and even good looks, contribute to successful campaigns of celebrity politicians. But aside from these, another significant factor to look at, which binds the government itself, is the constitution.
The Sections 3 and 6 of Article VI of the 1987 Philippine constitution enumerate the qualifications for both the Senate and House of Representatives, respectively. Candidates must be at least 25 years of age, a natural-born citizen, a registered voter, and is able to read and write. House representatives must be a resident of their district at least a year before the elections, while senators must be a resident in the Philippines for at least two years prior to the election.
Also worth noting are the qualifications for presidential aspirants. As stated in Article VII, Section 2, candidates must be at least 40 years of age, a literate registered voter, and a resident of the country for at least 10 years before the elections. These criteria notably omit any need for substantial experience in policy-making or public service.
Alongside lax requirements, coupled with the patronization of many voters towards celebrities and the public’s anti-establishment mindset, inevitably lead to the “celebrification” of politics.
While there is a need for voter education, Dr. Franco notes that this is just palliative because there is also one component of society that continuously permits the persistence of celebrity politics—the media.
The Persisting
From 2015 to 2021, the Philippines has been dubbed as the “social media capital” of the world. A 2024 Global Digital Report from DataReportal showed that there are 86.75 million active social media user identities nationwide, equivalent to 73% of the total population. The same report also revealed that there was an 8% increase among social media users in the country within a year. These numbers coincide with the gradual yet distributive crossover of political campaigns from traditional media to social media.
UP journalism professor Danilo Arao said that the media, as a business industry, would create news that sells. Since the lives of celebrities relatively sell more, the media then puts more focus on covering the campaigns of the popular.
Politics and the entertainment industry intersect and are more alike than they are not. Arao labels this as the “entertainmentization” of politics. The media aggravates the public’s lean towards exchanges and shouting rather than substantial legal discourse.
“Media focuses on the entertainment side… contextualization and depth of analysis are lacking,” he said.
When asked if the political setting has become “celebrified,” Arao said the media tries to package politicians as entertainers.
“Campaign rallies become fiestas, variety shows. There is dancing and singing to trending songs. Speeches are only a small aspect of the campaign. Nothing much is said about [the] program of action,” he added.
This focus on entertainment, as Arao pointed out, indirectly leads to the normalization of celebrity politics. It also results in unbalanced coverage and loss of support towards grassroots or opposition candidates.
Another side effect of excessive “entertainmentization” is the association made between movie characters and the actor’s real-life persona. After establishing a “tough” image, the election of action stars such as Robin Padilla, Bong Revilla, and Lito Lapid can be attributed to typecasting.
With the persistence of “entertainmentization” and “celebrification” of politics, along with other systemic political issues such as political dynasties, Arao encourages his fellow media practitioners to balance news coverage with lesser-known politicians by giving them more voice than businesses and clans who influence electoral outcomes. He also challenged the media to make “uninteresting” issues more interesting to their audience.
With the ever-growing influence that the media has on Filipinos, Franco and Arao both believe that celebrity politics will continue in the next elections. Just as the country grapples with worsening economic and societal conditions, the public instead elects celebrities to take on the mantle of governing. It is as if pouring salt on an open wound.
Perhaps, it is high time to revisit the constitution and amend provisions that seem too welcoming and too democratic. However, this entails a serious dilemma. How and why would politicians amend the exact constitutional right that granted them power?
One cannot pinpoint a particular reason for the existence of celebrity politics. It goes back and forth. It is a systemic issue, a commensalistic relationship. As the media continues to focus on the theatrics of politics, the government will remain the stage for a reality show starring a confederacy of elected actors.
