Juan Country » Willie Revillame

Wowowee a campaign vehicle for Villar

Carlo Ople — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 06:39:45 +0000

Noontime show Willie Revillame is aggressively pushing for the candidacy of Senator Manny Villar. They’ve been going on a tour all over the country doing campaign mini versions of Wowowee which includes the singing, dancing, and giving away of money. There’s nothing really wrong with this but I think Willie crossed the line a bit when he decided to publicly push for Villar during a popular segment in his show, Wowowee.

As reported by Arnold:

What intrigues me the most is on how they played the game. The game includes different colored boxes. The contestant will choose a colored box that he will open later to know what’s inside the box.

The contestant chose yellow. Then Revillame commented, “Sigurado na kayo? Bahala kayo, kayo naman bahala kung sinong pinuno ang ilalagay nyo”.

To cut the other 10 minutes of “bidding” short — colored yellow box has a candle inside it. The contestant lost the game. Then he went to the box colored orange. Before he opened, he commented, “Kung ito lang sana ang pinili nyo…”, then an evil grin, “ito sana!” P525,000 — the jackpot price.

If you are familiar with Philippine politics and the colors the politicians use, you’ll know that Yellow is Noynoy Aquino and Orange is Manny Villar — his rumored partner in the coming elections.

Willie has every right to campaign for Villar but that should be outside his official work hours as a noontime show host. There’s a reason why we have anti early campaigning laws set in place. I personally find this to be an abuse on Mr. Revillame’s end because people watch his show not because of his political endorsements, but because they want to be entertained. He should stick to the entertainment part.

Willie Revillame to run as Vice-President in 2010?

Carlo Ople — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 16:40:11 +0000

There’s been buzz going around that Senator Manny Villar invited Willie Revillame to run in 2010. Earlier news reports said that Revillame was invited to run in the Senate slate of NP. However, it looks like he might be running for higher office. There have been rumors along the grapevine that Revillame is actually Villar’s pick to be his running mate for the 2010 elections. Yes, you read that right – he actually might run for Vice President.

Here’s a video on SNN with Kris Aquino dropping hints on Revillame’s supposed candidacy. It’s somewhere in the 5:00 mark. Bear with the quality and the length of the video. The first 5 minutes aren’t related at all to this article.

To quote:

Kris Aquino: Willie, baka naman tatakbo ka rin ng Vice President, tayo tayo din ang mag-away.
Willie Revillame: Naku, nag-iisip din ako.

Wow… wow… wee!

Whatever Revillame’s decision is, you have to admire Villar’s party strategy. He’s really playing to win. In his senate slate, he tried to get people who could bring him votes from various sectors of the Philippines. If he were to get Willie as his running mate, that would make the NP an even more formidable force to reckon with.

However, I won’t vote for Revillame. The values and character that he displays during the noontime shows is against a lot of what I stand for. If he runs for Senate, VP, or any government post, he won’t get my support.

Wille Revillame for Senator in 2010?

Carlo Ople — Sat, 15 Aug 2009 17:33:27 +0000

Senator Manny Villar, who currently is the President of the Nacionalista Party (NP), has publicly extended an invitation for ABS-CBN noontime show host Willie Revillame a slot for the Senate in the party slate for 2010. He announced this in no less than a press conference. According to Villar, he visited Willie in Tagaytay after the host decided to go on indefinite leave after the recent scandal he was involved with in the President Aquino memorial service. While people might find this baffling at first, there is sound political strategy behind this move.

Willie Revillame has very good rapport with the Filipino masses. As proven with the previous elections, the politician who gets the vote of the C and D sectors of society will most likely win the elections. That’s why a lot of the Presidentiables these days are shifting their communication strategy to target the masses. One just has to look at the current Padyak ads of Senator Mar Roxas to get my point. If Willie Revillame were to join the NP, that would be tantamount to a direct endorsement of Villar and his team. The question now is if Revillame still has the same level of popularity after his recent debacle with the Aquino memorial.

One of my friends brought this point on Facebook – if Willie were to declare his candidacy, other parties would probably be scrambling to get him on their slate (sad ain’t it?).

In terms of competence, I personally don’t agree that he’s a good fit for the Senate. Willie Revillame is an entertainer. He’s definitely not a legislator. Besides, I think we already have too much show biz in the Senate – and most of them are non-performing assets. What we need in the Senate are more people who can really come up with laws that can benefit the Filipino people. I highly doubt if Willie has that in him.

If this issue popped up before our coffee session with Senator Villar, I would have definitely discussed this issue with him.

Here’s the complete article which was posted on ABS-CBN Interactive:

MANILA – The Nacionalista Party (NP) will reserve a slot in its senatorial ticket for Wowowee host Willie Revillame if he decides to run for the Senate.

In a press conference on Friday, Senator Manuel Villar, president of the NP, said that if Revillame is willing to run for the Senate, he will reserve a slot for him.

“Oo, naman, very qualified naman si Willie, wala naman akong nakikitang problema kay Willie,” Villar said. “Yun ay isang bagay na dapat niyang pagisipan.”

Villar visited Revillame in Tagaytay after he found out about the controversy involving Revillame’s move to cut the live streaming of the late President Corazon Aquino’s August 3 procession which was being shown simultaneously on Wowowee through an inset video.

Revillame’s move irked many viewers and prompted him to go on indefinite leave from his popular entertainment show. Nearly 50,000 have expressed support for an online petition seeking Revillame’s ouster from Wowowee.

Villar said that although he didn’t get to watch that controversial Wowowee episode, he nonetheless wants to express his support for the popular host.

He said Revillame can play a big role in strengthening the NP, the country’s oldest political party which Villar is rebuilding following years of poor party politics under its former leaders.

ABS-CBN News tried to reach Revillame for comment, but he declined to answer his phone, as of posting.

Tamano, Guingona sure bets

Villar also disclosed that Bukidnon Rep. Teofisto “TG” Guingona III and lawyer Adel Tamano will run for Senate under the NP ticket.

Villar likewise opened his party’s doors to administration ally, Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago, who is eligible to run for another term.

Villar, a businessman who built a fortune from mass housing projects, led a June 2009 Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey on who is best leader to succeed President Arroyo in 2010.

Villar said former Cavite Rep. Gilbert Remulla hasn’t decided if he is gunning for the Senate. However, Villar said he will also reserve a slot for him if he’s interested.

On Senator Santiago’s criticisms on Friday against the political advertisements of her colleagues, Villar said he should not be included in these attacks since he uses his own money for his ads.

Villar told ABS-CBN News editors last Monday that the ads are a means to level the playing field against the more well-known presidential aspirants such as former movie actors like Joseph Estrada or broadcast journalists like Noli de Castro.

Villar said Santiago’s hearing on Friday was about the use of government funds for infomercials of possible administration bets in 2010, which does not affect him since he uses private money.

He also said that he cannot be compelled to attend the Senate economic affairs committee hearings on premature campaigning due to parliamentary courtesy.

The NP also launched its spokesmen’s pool, namely, Senator Alan Peter Cayetano, TG Guingona, Adel Tamano, Gilbert Remulla, Rimpy Bondoc, Laguna Rep. Justin ‘Timmy’ Chipeco. — report from Jing Castañeda, ABS-CBN News

Regardless of what happens, I think he still has a very good chance on winning in 2010 (Revillame), especially if the people will vote based on personality and popularity – which is usually and sadly the case.

On the brighter side of things, I’m happy to see that Senator Villar has decided to include Congressman Guingona and Adel Tamano in his slot. These two young guns definitely have the makings of good Senators.