In my Barrio, hindi lang saklaan meron kami, movie house too. Betamaks nga lang sya. And back during my days in da Barrio, when I was still small, very very small, most of what I see in the movies, after selling one lata of kamote, are that the rich are mostly evil. Mga impakta sila. And typically, the rich are the politicians. In fact, I now remember, in every movie, if there is a Gobernador o kaya Meyor, almost always, he’s a murderer, a manipulative power-hungry animal out to do anything and everything at his disposal to remain in power? Stop! Hold it! I am not describing the Ampatuans, ok?! Anyway… Ba’t nga ba ganun nung panahon nang hapon? Ang mga impaktong movie producers na to oo! Hmpt! Grrr! Do you agree with my recollection/observation? See if you could find some old movies in your archives na merong pulitiko.

I’m not lambasting rich people or movie writers/producers/directors or sablay actors senators (charing lang yun! kayo naman!) who went into politics and join the government off the people, buy the people, poor the people with some never-ending drums of campaign funds at their disposal. I’m sure there are dozens of them who got rich through hard work and entered into politics to serve [insert applicable pronoun here], less the atoms that engulfed some wicked Pinoy politicians to make some wall street magic off of their meager P0 assets with a return of P5,000,000 soon after they start office. That’s an ROI (return on investment) that Wall Street executives are green with envy. They could have just hired these Filipino whiz millionaires as their investment consultants, global financial crisis would have been averted! Don’t ya’ think?!

But I feel like watching some old movies back in time again.

Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile Tuesday accused Sen. Manuel Villar of attempting to bribe him during the height of the investigation into allegations against the latter in connection with the C-5 road extension project controversy. Enrile said Villar, standard-bearer of the Nacionalista Party, tried to buy him off “in exchange for a favorable decision.”

(Source: Enrile claims Villar tried to buy him off )

Presidential candidate and Senator Richard Gordon claimed on Tuesday that his rival, Nacionalista Party standard bearer and Senator Manuel Villar Jr., offered to reimburse his expenses in the campaign in exchange for his backing out of the race. Gordon said that Villar sent an emissary recently offering him money and “whatever Cabinet position”. In an interview aired over radio station dzBB, Gordon said the visit by Villar’s emissary, whom he refused to identify, was witnessed by one of his children.

(Source: Gordon: Villar offered money for poll withdrawal)

At a time when I was enthralled not! like lang – at how good Manny Villar’s campaign team were, with all the money well spent on advertisement, forget that it puked so many of us, basura nightmare to some, now the campaign has detoured completely back into the wilderness of 20th century fox los indios campaign strategy like benti-benti and scholarships.

Dalawang insidente ang posibleng makasuhan si Villar ng vote buying kung may maglalakas-loob na pumunta sa Commission on Elections para magsampa ng pormal na reklamo.

Ang unang insidente ay naganap sa kanyang pa-concert sa Mall Of Asia noong Biyernes ng gabi kasabay ng Edsa rally sa Araneta Coliseum ni Liberal Party presidential candidate Noynoy Aquino. Sa kalagitnaan ng concert sa MOA ay namigay si Villar ng sandosenang scholarship sa mga mahihirap na bata na nagkakahalaga ng P70,000 bawa’t isa.

Ang ikalawa namang insidente ay nangyari sa campaign sortie ng NP sa mga syudad ng Batangas at Lipa kung saan namigay ng tig-P20 si Villar sa mga batang paslit na naghihintay na makamayan ang kandidatong mahilig tumulong sa mahihirap.

(Source: Candidate buying)

I don’t care about the legal definition where these two incidents fall under what silo. In my mind, it is vote buying that only the rich can afford. Will it still work? I don’t know. It better not! ‘Doesn’t add up to the political maturity of Filipinos kung meron man.

To me it’s not that certain quarters have twatloads of campaign money. It’s the strategy that they employ. While I commended the Villar Campaign people for doing a great job in the survey ratings war, this time around, they are sorely missing the point. People want change and that change includes the very same vote buying campaign strategy that Pinoys frown upon. And for a businessman with billions of pesos spent on his campaign, how will this movie end?

Bad debt write-off? Goodwill write-off? Capitalize political campaign spending on their books and amortized for tax purposes for some strangely circuitous highway as fixed assets?! Who knows. Generally accepted accounting principles to some is not generally accepted to others. After all, did I hear that COA’s been sleepless in Seattle?

If I get elected as the 1st woman Senatress, I will file a bill to limit political campaign ad spending, which will now be my 3rd bill – “to level the playing field“. Excusez-moi people, but did I hear that phrase somewhere?!

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reynz is one Uragon and a Filipino-American, has many years of public accounting & auditing, broadcast investments, housing tax credits and equity investments as his background. Based in the US, he maintains his personal and humor blog at reyna elena dot com. A graduate of Aquinas U, he went to GWU and Temple U in the United States.