An Alternative Way of Choosing the Philippine President

In view of the current crisis our country is facing and considering the unfaltering love of our countrymen for showbiz, politics and sports, I decided to mix these three all up and come up with a win-win solution for all – a reality show to end all reality show, “Who Wants to be the Next Philippine President?”

The format of the show is simple and easy to follow. For a given period of time, say six months or one year, the lives of the candidates will be televised twenty-four hours a day – from the time they wake up even while they are sleeping. Of course wire-tapping is legal this time around.

The candidates will be given different problems they need to solve within a day, a week, or a month, depending on the predetermined level of complexity. Some possible problems are “reading and comprehension” (easy level), “simple arithmetic” (easy level), “selling lemons” (medium), “disguising and mingling with the masses” and “running a big company for a day” (difficult). There will also be physical competitions which will determine the longevity of the candidates.

Some other suggested activities are as follows:
• Each contestant will be sent to an orphanage or nursery full of crying kids/babies. The contestants/candidates will be judged according to how many kids/babies they can successfully console. Children being a very good judge of character will show who among the candidates are genuine and trust-worthy.
• The candidates will be sent to a house full of people. Within a given period of time they will try to befriend as much people as possible. They will be judged according to the quantity and quality of people they will befriend.
• The lie detector challenge. Each contestant will be asked a series of questions, some demeaning, while connected to a lie detection machine.
• A quiz bee pitting the candidates to elementary, high school up to college level of students.
• Team competition. The candidates will be divided into two groups. Each group will be given a problem which they can only solve if they work together.

On the other hand, the following suggested activities are not allowed:
• A mahjong competition.
• A competition to determine who has the highest alcohol tolerance level.
• A competition to judge who is the funniest candidate.

Each activity will not be the sole criterion for voting out the candidates. Please see the rule for elimination below.

A small area, possibly an island, will be used to simulate the real Philippines. From time to time, activities will be held in this island. Some simulation examples are war, protests and cabinet meetings.

Near the end of each episode, the candidates will be pitted against one another, debating on a particular issue.

To determine the winner there will be two sources of votes – people’s vote (50%), through text votes, and judges’ vote (50%). Since the presidency should not be a popularity contest, the people should not be given the sole power to determine the winner. The judges will be comprised of at least three learned and educated people from the different sectors of the society. Some foreign judges will be brought in from time to time, depending on the current activity. The lowest vote getter per episode will be eliminated.

The host should have a witty and strong personality. As of the moment, Mirriam Santiago is the leading candidate for the job. A close second is Edu Manzano.

Among the benefits of holding this reality show is as follows:
• The publicity Philippines will make will rival even the holding of Olympics.
• The income it will generate – from licensing to other countries, merchandises (Gloria’s fake stick-on mole, Erap’s wrist band, Noli’s gel, Susan’s puppet doll, Rex Cortez’ action figure, Brother Mike’s colorful suits, Erap’s mahjong set, etcetera), SMS messages. How about a Pay-Per-View tie-up with HBO?
• We will be sure, that at least for the year preceding the next president’s election, he/she was never been involved in an anomaly.
• The voting power of undeserving Filipino voters is greatly decreased.
• The candidates will not spend a lot of money campaigning, thus enabling him/her to start his/her presidency clear from debt.
• It is easy to hide one habit, mannerism or addiction for a day, but the candidates will not be able to hide it for six months or more.
• At least once during those 365 nights a candidate will talk in his sleep and we can just imagine what revelation it will be.

In order for us to maximize the benefits of this reality show, I suggest creating another reality show succeeding this one. The title will simply be “The Life of the Philippine President”. And this will show a twenty-four hour coverage of the president’s activities.