The administration’s behemoth coalition plugged a gaping hole in its May election campaign with the last-minute recruitment of actor-TV host Edu Manzano as the running mate of recently resigned Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro Jr.

In recruiting Manzano, Lakas-Kampi-CMD tapped the world of show biz celebrity to pump life into its faltering campaign in which Teodoro, favored by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo as the coalition’s presidential candidate, is faring badly in the surveys. His popularity rating in September was no more than 4 percent, compared to the more than 50 percent of the apparent front-runner, Sen. Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III of the Liberal Party.

In teaming Teodoro up with a high-profile show biz celebrity to give oomph to his serious credentials—such as being a bar topnotcher, an experienced member of the House of Representatives, and having a brief and unspectacular stint at the defense department, the springboard of the popular Ramon Magsaysay to the presidency in 1953 election—the majority coalition’s strategists did nothing innovative.

Rather, they fell back on a formula that proved to be successful on the national stage in 1992, when then Sen. Joseph Estrada was elected vice president with an overwhelming majority.

Failed format

But the formula, based on the notion that show biz personalities, using their exposure in the entertainment field rather than their limited public service experience or intellectual substance as political capital, is a failed format.

It did not work to the advantage of movie actors who aspired for election to national office, notable among whom was the late action star Fernando Poe Jr., who lost the 2004 election to incumbent President Arroyo, despite Estrada’s endorsement.

Allegations persist that Ms Arroyo rigged the election through the intervention of the election Commissioner Virgilio Garcillano in the infamous Garci tapes affair, but whatever is the truth, movie charisma did not work in the case of Poe.

While it is quite true that a number of show biz celebrities have been elected to the Senate and to provincial and municipal positions on the strength of their exposure in media, recent election failures illustrate that celebrity status does not ensure victory.

Manzano cannot be certain that this formula will work in his bid for the vice presidency. He needs more than that. The formula has been overworked, and the public has acquired a certain amount of skepticism over whether media-entertainment celebrities bring into public service useful and enough gravitas.

Meager service

These personalities include Vice President Noli de Castro and Sen. Loren Legarda, both of whom were leading lights on ABS-CBN’s information-oriented programs.

How much weight Manzano will contribute to lift the campaign of Teodoro is a matter of conjecture. Manzano’s public service record is meager and much of his popularity stems from his exposure on TV shows he has hosted.

Manzano was elected vice mayor of Makati in 1998, ran for reelection in 2001, but lost. In February 2004, Ms Arroyo appointed him chair of the Optical Media Board. He resigned from the post in August 2009.

On the basis of this thin public service record, Sen. Jinggoy Estrada, son of former President Joseph Estrada, also a movie actor, endorsed Manzano, saying that Manzano’s popularity is “his greatest advantage.” Popularity is not what the vice presidency needs, the office needs gravitas.

The majority coalition decided on Manzano after a long search for a running mate for Teodoro.

Spent field

Interior Secretary Ronaldo Puno, who announced the selection of Manzano, said he encouraged Manzano to take up the challenge of running with Teodoro after Puno himself backed out of the vice presidential race, illustrating the paucity of the field from which to search for a vice presidential candidate.

Few had incentive to climb on Teodoro’s bandwagon, in view of the odds facing the administration coalition that is laboring under the heavy baggage of the President’s popularity ratings.

Manzano took his gamble with the administration’s coalition, despite the risks involved. In fact he decided to join the administration’s team while the Liberal Party was seriously considering him for its senatorial ticket. There were negotiations under way between Manzano and LP leaders.

The recruitment of Manzano tests the viability and utility of the show biz celebrity sector as an alternative recruitment ground for new reform-minded and visionary young leadership.

The traditional recruitment field for the presidency and vice presidency is dominated by lawyers, professionals and politicians embedded in Congress. Any impulses and initiatives for political reforms and renewal hardly spring from this traditional breeding environment for political leadership. The administration’s coalition is not the place to look for agents of change. It is an exhausted recruitment field.