GOV.PH MAGAZINE Using Popularity of Politicians in The Philippine | Page 23

    Filipinos have a
fondness over teleseryes
from quite some time.
According to Manila Times
(2015), more than half of
the Filipinos watch
television at least four
times a week. Television is
still one of the most
powerful medium in
influencing Filipino voters.
A survey reported by
Corrales (2014), shows that
Filipinos, with an average
of 21 hours  per week, are
the second most avid
watchers of television.

    According to Hays
(2015), voters also care
more about personality and
image of politicians. It’s
common to see candidates
that are high school dropout
movie stars, basketball
players and comedians get
elected in office. Some
didn’t even have public
service experience before
running for office. 
   According to a survey
in Manila Times (2015),
results show the several
factors that influence a
voter. A massive chunk of
voters considers family
recommendations or advice
(86%) and more than half
of them believes the
influence of the
information seen on
Televisions (56%). Both
have the highest impact
on choosing a political
candidate.
   In Luzon, the
recommendations from
public officials (34%)
and friends (35%) are
also considered by the
people. Those from
Mindanao considers word-
of-mouth within their
neighborhood (30%) is
also an important factor
in their voting
preference.