Manila Bulletin Executive Editor Pinky Colmenares presents the Manila Bulletin's 'Matalinong Boto 2025' campaign for this midterm elections on Dateline Philippines with Karmina Constantino on the ABS-CBN News Channel earlier today.
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00:00Well, millions of Filipino voters will make their voices heard on a wide range of issues
00:08come election day, from national sovereignty, politics to higher commodity prices, and so
00:14much at stake.
00:15How do we ensure voters make an informed choice in the elections, peaceful and transparent?
00:20Joining us in the newsroom for a discussion on their Matalinong Boto election campaign
00:25is Pinky Colmenares.
00:26She is the senior executive editor of the Manila Bulletin, one of ABS-CBN's partners
00:30for the May polls.
00:31Pinky, nice to have you with us today.
00:33Thanks for joining us.
00:34Thank you also for inviting me to be here.
00:38So this whole campaign, I mean, the Manila Bulletin has its own campaign, ABS-CBN as
00:44well.
00:45But first off, this question, why is it important for media to take part, to have this sort
00:50of a campaign, to make sure that there is integrity in the upcoming polls?
00:54Well, I think media should really take part in informing people of the choices that they
01:00are going to make, because voting is a democratic process.
01:05And it is very important that they vote for the right leaders to lead us, to solve our
01:10problems.
01:11We have so many problems now.
01:12We have unemployment, underemployment, poverty, food, rising food prices.
01:19Because media companies, you and I, we belong to media companies, it is our responsibility
01:26to present information so that the people will be led to make good decisions.
01:32I was just talking to Professor Ronnie Holmes the other day about how people make their
01:38informed choices come Election Day.
01:40And it's still traditionally the advertisements that get to the voter.
01:46But in this day and age, those advertisements are really something else, right?
01:52It's political propaganda on steroids, right?
01:56So how do you counter that to make sure that there is this whole other universe of facts,
02:06of track record, of competence of these candidates wanting to get their votes?
02:12Well, that's really a difficult challenge to counter that, because people now, or news
02:18consumers now, like to be entertained.
02:21And they are entertained by the propaganda, the ads, the slogans, even the production
02:27numbers.
02:28They're entertained by messages that are delivered that way.
02:33But it is our responsibility to counter that by coming out with full information, truthful
02:39information, fact-based information, to counter everything that they see in social media or
02:45even in the ads.
02:46Because it's our responsibility to guide them to make informed choices.
02:50Matalinong Boto campaign aims to be Manila-Philippines' contribution to a strong democracy.
02:57That's why we believe that we have to go on informing them, presenting the news and features
03:02that highlight the virtues and the value of respectful discourse, nomad-slinging, which
03:11we have just seen, we are now full of that in the news, peaceful elections, and facts,
03:19not fake news.
03:20So Matalinong Boto campaign hopes to get people to be involved and aware that there is such
03:27a thing as making a good decision to choose our leaders.
03:31Not only because they're popular, not only because they can do a good song and dance
03:35number or deliver a good jingle, but because they have a platform of government.
03:43I think, Penggyu, you and I have been in this industry for quite a long time already, enough
03:48for us to hope that it's not just the jingles that they recall come election day.
03:54It's not the last song syndrome, but really the policies, the advocacies, the track record
04:02and competence of these candidates.
04:04You have three pillars, as you mentioned, there's peaceful elections, respectful elections,
04:09and facts, not fake news.
04:12How do you help in the peaceful elections aspect with your campaign, Matalinong Boto?
04:17We highlight, we have now a page, and our reporters are aware of this.
04:22We highlight stories that talk about, that speak about peaceful initiatives of candidates.
04:29And then we highlight also stories that's anti-mudslinging, you know, to make people
04:35aware that they should read or try to find out what is the platform of government of
04:41their candidate or their favorite and very popular candidate, because that is what is
04:46most important.
04:47They have to know that the person who they are voting for has a platform to present.
04:52What is their plan to help us create more economic opportunities or more employment?
05:00It's not just in the jingle that the plan will come out.
05:04So by presenting them with stories in, you know, in the way that it's consumed now in
05:11social media, in online, we hope and we aim to get their attention, to pay attention,
05:20to make good choices.
05:22Also I was also wondering, because I was reading, I was looking at the presentation of the people
05:28who are doing this campaign, and they had a lot of tarps.
05:33Some of them will be placed on tricycles, mobile, you know, in the buses.
05:39And I was wondering, what is this for?
05:41And now I know what it is for, because as you see that, and it becomes very obvious
05:45in the communities that you have this big tarp of Matalinong Boto, enters your mind
05:51that, yeah, this is what it means, we need a good choice, we need a wise vote.
05:57It's not a matter of just a popular vote.
06:01So through those tarps that are running around or moving around, through jeepneys, tricycles,
06:08or even newsboys who wear them in their shirts, we hope to instill that kind of awareness,
06:13even among children, especially among the students, to tell their elders who are voting
06:18of Matalinong Boto.
06:20All right.
06:21So let's go to the mudslinging part and the respectful part.
06:24I mean, this early into the campaign, they're not faring very well, Pinky, I mean, as we
06:29saw.
06:30But then again, you know, you have difference in policies, right?
06:34One might already say, now that's mudslinging, but really what the other side is doing is
06:40just really pointing out to the fact that this, for example, is their stand on a particular
06:46issue.
06:47So how do you help people discern what is mudslinging and what is really discourse that
06:53needs to happen, and for the people to know about these issues?
06:58Well, that one is not very difficult to do.
07:02Although, you know, if you're very, well, we all are aware of social media, where mudslinging
07:08is now like part of the game, you know?
07:12That's the way you get likes, or you know, you get your reads, you know, or views.
07:19But true stories, or true feature stories in our campaigns on how a respectful discourse
07:27happens, that you listen to what somebody says, you listen to what are they offering
07:33on the table.
07:34What can they do?
07:35Are they qualified to do that?
07:37Do they understand the problem, do they understand the issues?
07:42And for them also to respect the other person, or the other candidates, when they say that
07:49they are against their thoughts.
07:51So through all these stories, we aim to build a culture for respectful discourse, that you
07:59do not attack a person.
08:01It is rude to attack a person personally.
08:05Personally.
08:06Yes, personally.
08:07But based on issues, that's fair game.
08:10That's fair game, yes.
08:11So I think we, you and I, we're in the media, we have to just keep on, although we are sometimes
08:17disappointed when we see on the mudslinging, especially in social media, we just have to
08:23keep on because people will just latch on and understand, this is what peaceful or respectful
08:31discourse is all about.
08:32Well, there's another layer to it, in such that sometimes the mudslinging, the target,
08:37is us, the media, because it, you know, social media and fake information out there has completely
08:45eroded, you know, we're trying to rebuild it, but it has eroded the trust of the public
08:51and media.
08:52So what makes you and I think, you know, that yes, we're doing this initiative, but are
08:58there any takers?
09:00Well, one of the things that we do, the campaign of Matalinong Boto, is conducting forums in
09:07the schools to prepare or to make these children or the students aware of what is the voting
09:13process all about, what are the issues, and what is an intelligent or a smart, wise vote.
09:19So we are now conducting that, we have five schools on the list, and we are in the process
09:24of having a partnership with them, and these schools are in Tamoros, because they're just
09:31near my office, yeah, and through all these forums, and you know, it's interesting, because
09:36I've been to one before, in the last election, students are really, really listen, it's not
09:42like they're just there because they have no class, yeah, they really listen, and they
09:46ask a lot of questions about adult things, adult issues, and you'd not think that they
09:52are interested.
09:53It's just that, Catriona, now...
09:56It's Carmina, by the way.
09:57Carmina, I'm sorry.
09:58It's okay.
09:59It's now, people are more interested in what comes out in social media, you know, so they
10:06say, maybe that's real, because it's repeated and repeated and repeated, and we only say
10:12it once a day, or you say, yeah, you have it once a day.
10:16Yeah, but also, is it also a factor, I mean, you talk about the students, but it's different,
10:24it's a different story altogether when you talk about the parents, the parents who are
10:28in survival mode, the parents who have no, not enough income to bring to the table, and
10:33would rely, would rely on local governments, would rely on aids coming from the government,
10:38and therefore, there's this, the patronage politics now seeps in, so yes, the learners
10:47are enlightened, but then the parents are steeped in reality, so how do you then bridge
10:53that through this campaign?
10:56To that, you know, I've been here for so long, and yes, every election, we try to give that
11:03same message, and every election, you see the survival mode kicking in, and it's the
11:08one carrying the vote, because like, one time, I was with a group of people in a small area,
11:18and they were all informal settlers, and they were voting for a person who owns the land,
11:25and so, but they did not want to, and two people dared to vote differently, and the
11:32next time I saw the person, they said that they were kicked out of the land, so that's
11:37what I mean, these are the realities that we have to also face while we're reporting,
11:44and while we're trying to change the culture, and it can be very frustrating, but we have
11:50to keep on, that's our responsibility, we're in media, we're supposed to, you know, to
11:54lead people to good ideas, we're supposed to be the leaders of change, so we cannot
12:02get frustrated and give up.
12:04Yeah, because right now, I'm like listening to you, right, and the whole campaign is all
12:08about matalinong voto, but what about matalinong kandidato, because, I mean, that vote is just
12:16as good as the, you know, the candidate, right, but if, I mean, this should also be, I guess,
12:22as a signal to the candidates out there that there is this, there is this need for them
12:29to level up the discourse, right, it cannot be this way.
12:35Yeah, you know, interesting, today, one of our columnists, Mayor Inares of Antipolo,
12:42wrote a very nice column about that, discussing why celebrities, showbiz celebrities or stars
12:53win in every election, and he was saying, it's because Pinoys like to, you know, the
13:00feeling of affinity, that I know this person, and this person must know me, and then the
13:04trust, so because of the affinity, they feel that they can trust the person.
13:10So we cannot get away from that kind of culture, because, like you said, patronage, and then
13:17this one is the celebrity thing, that you feel like you know the person.
13:21So we just have to, you know, to go on and tell, and come out with campaigns like this
13:27to tell them, look beyond the popularity, look beyond patronage, and if you want something
13:34done, you have to stand up for it.
13:37But we also have to make a mention that, you know, it's not all across the board, not all
13:42celebrities are created equal, right, there are celebrities who have become public servants,
13:50excellent public servants, but conversely as well, there are, everyone can be a celebrity
13:56nowadays, right, through social media.
13:59Would you agree with me, Pinky, when you say, when I say that, you know, this time around,
14:05when you talk about the Filipino vote, they're voting for both the familiar and the mythical.
14:09Yes, that is correct, the familiar and the mythical, yes.
14:15They're familiar with the person, the name, the face, what the person has done, that's
14:22the difficult part, that's why you said it's a good thing to tell the candidates to level
14:26up, because perhaps when you run, you should have like a track record, so that you have,
14:34you should have a, to be familiar, you know, you cannot just come up now and say I'll run
14:39now because you are not familiar, and to the Filipino voter, it is important that the name
14:45and the face, they are familiar.
14:49Which brings us to the last pillar, which is facts and not fake information, because
14:55the hope is that all of these things and hopes that you said would be based on real information,
15:03on facts.
15:05How much of an uphill battle is it for this campaign to make sure that that is communicated
15:09to the public?
15:11The Manila Bulletin, I'm sure, you know, sometimes they make jokes about us saying
15:16that we're a bulletin board, because we always have a lot of fact-checking, we value accuracy.
15:26Sometimes we sacrifice speed for accuracy, because we fact-check everything that comes
15:32out, and we are very careful that we really get red in the face or very embarrassed if
15:38there's something that comes out that's not been fact-checked or it's incorrect.
15:42So, for us, we're just following with our commitment and our legacy of facts, and we've
15:51been in the business for 125 years, we just celebrated.
15:53You just celebrated, congratulations.
15:55Yeah, thank you.
15:56And that is, for anyone who comes in, the bulletin, that's the first thing they'll
16:01face, accuracy.
16:03That is what's most important.
16:04So, we believe that we have developed already, we have built or we have established a reputation.
16:09That's why when you say, when you were in school and somebody says, there's no classes
16:14tomorrow, we say, did it come out in the bulletin?
16:17Correct, correct, correct, yeah.
16:19That's true.
16:20Or when you say, we're getting double pay because it's a holiday, did it come out in
16:24the bulletin?
16:25Yeah, so now we're the Manila Bulletin, and we know that we have established the trust
16:30record.
16:31There's been several surveys that have shown that we are high in the trust rating.
16:39So, we just want to, that's like our anchor.
16:42We want to tell you, we are only presenting facts, because we believe that the Filipino
16:52people need information, real information, you know, real information.
16:57All right.
16:58We have a couple of months to go before the May 2025 elections.
17:02It's going to be a very interesting ride this time around.
17:06I guess I'll see you on the other side.
17:08Yes, thank you very much.
17:10Thanks a lot.
17:11Pinky Kombinatis, Senior Executive Editor of the Manila Bulletin, one of ABS-CBN's
17:16partners for the May polls.
17:17Thanks again for joining us today.