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Politicians woo Filipino voters with freebies
Manila, Mar 25: Corazon Mendoza gets a discount of 10 per cent at her favourite hamburger chain every time she flashes cards that rival politicians are giving away to poor voters in the Mandaluyong area of the Philippine capital.
Manila, Mar 25: Corazon Mendoza gets a discount of 10
per cent at her favourite hamburger chain every time she flashes
cards that rival politicians are giving away to poor voters in the
Mandaluyong area of the Philippine capital.
''I haven't really made up my mind but we want to take
advantage of the freebies they offer during the election
period,'' she said, adding: ''This is something really very useful for
us.''
Campaigning for May 10 general elections is in full swing as candidates vie to become president, a member of Congress or a provincial governor. About 40 million people, nearly half of the population, are registered to vote. Politicians at the local level cannot officially start wooing voters until march 25 but many are already marketing themselves by doling out discounts for everything from meals to haircuts.
''This is easily the most tangible benefit our people can get from government,'' said Jesus Cruz, Mandaluyong's vice-mayor.
A discount of 10 pesos (18 cents) on a canister of cooking gas ''will go a long, long way for the pocket of an average household'', he said.
Cruz, seeking his third and final term, has given 4,000 cards to residents who signed up for his social organisation ''unlad pinoy'' (Filipino progress). He plans to hand out thousands more when he is allowed to begin campaigning later this month.
Businesses honouring the cards get free advertising on huge billboards in Mandaluyong.?
On the national stage, president Gloria Macapagal Arroyo is playing up her record and experience, but she also boasts the power of administration machinery to deliver the goods.
While arroyo's campaign team denies she is buying votes, her rivals are howling at handouts of healthcare cards, scholarships, land titles and funds for local projects. Dozens of unemployed middle-aged women recently got jobs as street sweepers.
Bureau Report
Campaigning for May 10 general elections is in full swing as candidates vie to become president, a member of Congress or a provincial governor. About 40 million people, nearly half of the population, are registered to vote. Politicians at the local level cannot officially start wooing voters until march 25 but many are already marketing themselves by doling out discounts for everything from meals to haircuts.
''This is easily the most tangible benefit our people can get from government,'' said Jesus Cruz, Mandaluyong's vice-mayor.
A discount of 10 pesos (18 cents) on a canister of cooking gas ''will go a long, long way for the pocket of an average household'', he said.
Cruz, seeking his third and final term, has given 4,000 cards to residents who signed up for his social organisation ''unlad pinoy'' (Filipino progress). He plans to hand out thousands more when he is allowed to begin campaigning later this month.
Businesses honouring the cards get free advertising on huge billboards in Mandaluyong.?
On the national stage, president Gloria Macapagal Arroyo is playing up her record and experience, but she also boasts the power of administration machinery to deliver the goods.
While arroyo's campaign team denies she is buying votes, her rivals are howling at handouts of healthcare cards, scholarships, land titles and funds for local projects. Dozens of unemployed middle-aged women recently got jobs as street sweepers.
Bureau Report