Elections in the Philippines are welcomed like fiestas. The frenetic activity, the contest of catchy jingles, and the spectacle of candidates gyrating to the latest ditty like Paru-paru G!, with a backdrop of social media disinformation and mal-information all directed at the level of emotions of the voters, not on understanding society’s pressing issues.
Various observers of Philippine democracy have concluded that the election slogan should be: “It’s more fun in the Philippines!” just like our tourism slogan.
Our elections have been described as “entertaining”, with Tik-tok catching the attention of the more gullible social media users who take whatever is posted on social media as gospel truth.
Amusement is provided with a mix of the old political dynasties/clans, showbiz personalities, and a hodgepodge of paid political commentators.
But is the power to choose a “right and responsibility which Filipinos hold dear” or is “everyone’s right to vote and be voted upon” the source of the nation’s troubles?
Believe it or not, Cambridge Analytica’s parent company, Strategic Communication Laboratories, had found the Philippines an ideal target, and used local proxies here, according to Christopher Wylie, the Canadian whistle- blower, in an interview with Rappler’s Maria Ressa on the sidelines of the Antidote Festival in Sydney, Australia.
Three conditions made it possible: the questionable rule of law, high social media usage, and corrupt politicians — making for a perfect place to test their techniques and technology.
It was revealed (2018) that Cambridge Analytica had accessed the data of millions of Facebook users to target them for political campaigns. Facebook later reported that data of over 87 million users were harvested, among them, 1.2 million Pinoy social media users.
“The Philippines is one of those countries where you’ve got a lot of people online, and a lot of people using social media. So when you’ve got that kind of set-up, it’s an ideal target,” Wylie said.
In addition, Strategic Comms Lab did not go into a country as the SCL Group but they used local partners (proxies), making it very difficult for the regulators or Opposition parties to actually identify what was happening. Once an election is done, the SCL proxies just get out.
Wylie slammed what he called ‘digital colonialism’ by technology companies: “Like the story that always repeats itself, colonialism never died; it just moved online.”
Beyond the ballots cast during elections, democracy is a “government by discussion”, characterized by public dialogue and interaction.
Its success or failure depends on the quality of this dialogue and interaction. It is evident that roadblocks in the process remain, resulting in an occasional disconnect between what voters want, and what they are eventually given.
Have automating the election process prevented fraud, intimidation of voters and the exercise of patronage, elimination of poll violence, putting an end to vote-buying?
For as long as Pinoy political parties are built on personalities, and not on ideology and merit, with accountability mechanisms not institutionalized, there is room for corruption.
How can the electorate make informed choices that way?
“Unhappy is the land that needs a hero.“ (Bertolt Brecht, Life of Galileo)
Stay tuned.
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Author’s email: whelmayap@yahoo.com
