Summary

TAPE: EF01/0396 IN_TIME: 07:18:49 DURATION: 3:29 SOURCES: APTN/Reyna Films/Estrada VNR RESTRICTIONS: No re-use/re-sale of film/video/tv clips without clearance DATELINE: Manila, The Philippines - 10/9 May, 2001/File SHOTLIST: APTN - 9 May, 2001 1. Armida Siguion Reyna walking up the stage 2. Crowd waving 3. Siguion-Reyna waving Reyna Films - Movie Title: "Just call me Joy" 4. Excerpts of Armida Siguion Reyna in a movie scene APTN - 9 May, 2001 5. SOUNDBITE: (English/Tagalog) Armida Siguion-Reyn, Candidate for Congress "The showbiz people felt that our beloved President (Joseph Estrada) was insulted severely, so we would like to prove to the people, especially of our country, that we are capable. We are capable." Estrada VNR 6. Excerpt of Joseph Estrada in a movie scene APTN File - 25 April 2001 7. Estrada behind bars after his arrest 10 May, 2001 8. Connie Angeles, met by crowd, shakes hands 9. SOUNDBITE: (English/Tagalog) Connie Angeles, Candidate for Vice Mayor "Since the President Estrada is from showbiz, of course, it will have some effect, but nowadays, the electorate are very intelligent and they will always look for the credentials, and the track record and the performance of the candidates." APTN - File 10. Actor Edu Manzano (in yellow vest - running for Mayor) with crowd 11. Close-up of comedian Joey Marquez (running for reelection as Mayor) in campaign 12. Philippine superstar Nora Aunor (in white shirt- running for governor) shaking hands with people 9 May, 2001 13. Siguion-Reyna on stage dancing 14. SOUNDBITE: (English) Ricardo Lo, Entertainment Writer "I think its more of adventurism for them. I can say that I don't think they know what they are getting into. Politics, holding a public office is a very demanding job, it isn't just entertaining people, its serving the people." 15. Movie billboards with campaign billboard in the middle 16. SOUNDBITE: (Tagalog) Vox Pop "I will still vote for actors. Just because one made a mistake, does not mean all of them are like that. Each of them have their own principles and their own desires for their constituents." 17. SOUNDBITE: (Tagalog) Vox Pop "Their line is entertainment, and politics is not their line, so I can say that I will not vote for any show business personality." 18. Crowd cheering 19. Dancers on stage during campaign rally STORYLINE: Armida Siguion-Reyna's name (pronounced "Armeeda Seegyawn-Rayna) is familiar in every household in the Philippines, as a singer and a character actress. So it is not such a surprise to hear people cheering and applauding when they see her on stage. But this is no concert, this is Siguion-Reyna's final campaign rally - part of her bid to win a congressional seat in the coming May 14 elections. She has never been into politics and has spent more than 20 years singing or acting in movies, except for the last two years, when she served in government as head of the Movie Television Review and Classification Board, under the administration of Joseph Ejercito Estrada, also a former movie star. Siguion Reyna left that post after Estrada was forced to step down from the presidency in January for allegations of corruption. But Estrada's fate did not discourage Siguion-Reyna from making a try for politics, in fact she says she felt more strongly about running, to show the Filipinos that people from show business are very capable of serving in government. Joseph Estrada was elected president in 1998 mainly due to his popularity as a former action star. He was elected with the widest margin ever in the history of Philippine politics, but he is now in jail awaiting trial for economic plunder. Connie Angeles has been acting in movies since she was seven years old. She now hopes to get a second term as Vice Mayor of suburban Quezon City. She concedes that what happened to Estrada may affect people's perception about voting for show business personalities, but in the end she thinks that the voters are intelligent enough to go for track record and performance. Many more from the entertainment industry are running, as it seems Estrada's fate has not discouraged them at all. Entertainment writer Ricardo Lo says that there are at least 60 people from show business running in this election, more than the number that ran in the last election. The public has mixed feelings. Some say they do not see anything wrong with show business people moving into politics, while some say that entertainers should stick to entertaining. On Monday, May 14, some 34 (m) million registered voters are to elect 13 Senators, the entire House of Representatives and thousands of municipal officials nationwide.