Lito Banayo thinks Ping Lacson has an edge in this election.

	Supporters of Lacson say his platform, track record, and charisma will ensure his victory. [Photo courtesy of Malaya]

"WARPED" AND “stupid” are how Lito Banayo describes the Philippine electoral process. But it’s a process that he has participated in for decades as a campaign strategist. And he’s doing that again in the coming elections, in which he is bent on getting Senator Panfilo Lacson into Malacañang.

It is the first time, though, that Banayo will be working in a presidential race where the incumbent is running. Thus, he doesn’t expect his work to be a walk in the park. “She (President Arroyo) has the edge in resources,” he says, “and I would not be surprised if they try to tamper with the results.”

But like all campaign strategists, he is confident his candidate will win. Lacson, he says, has “a proven track record, a clear platform, and personal charisma.” He believes those three alone will more than make up for what the Lacson campaign lacks in money and other resources. Plus, he says, “Filipinos will try to make a more intelligent choice this time.”

Lacson delivers on his promises, says Banayo. The man was chief of the Philippine National Police for a mere 14 months, but “he delivered in so many ways.” And that track record matters. “People will match what you say with what you’ve done,” says Banayo. For the incumbent, that setup is a disadvantage. “It’s easier for the opposition to say, ‘Look at her, what has she done?’ than for the administration to say, ‘What have you done?’ Well, we’re not in power.”

But Banayo says what Lacson himself intends to do when he gets to be president is equally as important as his track record. This is what the Lacson team has been working on furiously since February, when the senator’s personal campaign machine began to be put together. According to Banayo, the most important components of the Lacson platform are battling crime and corruption, abolishing the pork barrel, and setting very specific targets for the delivery of basic services. “And every state of the nation will be a report card.”

To make sure Lacson’s message gets across, Banayo and his crew want everything clear and concise. There will be no singing and dancing in this campaign, only PowerPoint presentations.

Of course there’s the incumbent’s perceived largesse in funds to worry about. Banayo figures that they have only 20 percent of what “she intends to spend,” even as he points out that the Arroyo has government resources that are, presumably, at her disposal.

“She has the edge of the National Printing Office, the Public Information Agency, so many government resources,” says Banayo. And when the president, for instance, travels to remote provinces using government planes, it is clear to those like Banayo that her purposes are partisan. “But she’s going to claim ‘I’m president I have to visit this and that’ and you cannot quarrel with that,” he says.

Banayo, however, refuses to concede that all of the incumbent’s money and resources will translate into enough votes to clinch the election. Even civil servants, whom people might expect to have some loyalty to a sitting president, “hate” her, he says without flinching. “She wouldn’t even get two out of their 10 votes.”

Yet there’s still former Senator Raul Roco, whom Banayo refers to as “the third candidate.” Banayo says it’s unlikely that Roco will be relegated to be just a saling-pusa, so they are looking at him as another major contender.

Banayo says of every 100 of the “market” votes — that which will not be influenced by political parties and politicians — 25 are locked with the administration and 35 with the opposition. That means all the candidates will be fighting for the remaining 40.

Banayo reckons that with Lacson’s advantages including being “mediagenic,” his candidate won’t have a hard time getting those votes. He remarks, “He’s one of the most colorful political figures at the moment, so everything he says normally gets good media treatment.”

Banayo’s Formula for Success

1. Personal empathy

2. Proven track record

3. Media exposure

4. Quality of media placements

5. Resources

6. Personal support machinery

Then again, Banayo admits being mediagenic in this respect is different from having the “personal empathy” that the Filipino voter values foremost in a presidential aspirant. Normally, this was more important for local candidates. Former President Estrada, however, had changed that. “That was the magic of Erap,” says Banayo. “He was able to project to the entire country that his heart bled for them.”

He says that while Lacson may be someone “that most people consider as someone who would fight crime and is no-nonsense,” projecting that personal empathy “is something we are still working on.”

Banayo himself could be considered one of Lacson’s trump cards. A veteran strategist, Banayo traces his involvement in political movements and campaigns to the early 1980s, when Benigno ‘Ninoy’ Aquino, then in exile in Boston, sought his services. Aquino asked him to help organize the opposition, and Banayo did exactly that when he came home. In 1984, he was deputy to master strategist Ernesto Maceda (from whom he says he learned the most valuable lessons about the craft). That year UNIDO candidates managed to grab one-third of the seats in the Batasang Pambansa, the Marcos-era parliament. In 1986, he helped steer the election of Ninoy Aquino’s widow, Corazon, to the presidency and of Salvador Laurel to the vice presidency.

Since then, Banayo has helped several other politicians land prized positions: a Senate slot in 1987 for Orlando ‘Orly’ Mercado, the presidency in 1998 for Joseph Estrada, and most recently, a Senate seat in 2001 for Lacson.

Quite a winning streak he will certainly rue to break. — Vinia Datinguinoo