Presidential candidate Bongbong Marcos is not intentionally avoiding shaking hands with his supporters as he toured the country for his campaign, his spokesperson said Sunday, contrary to what news reports and videos showed.
The only son and namesake of the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos Sr. is nursing a wound on his left wrist, and was only trying to put it away from the crowd to avoid further infection, said his spokesperson Vic Rodriguez.
“Hindi umiiwas sa handshake si BBM, kundi iniiwas lamang niya ang kanyang kamay na nagkasugat sa braso malapit sa may pulso na tila nagka-impeksyon," Rodriguez said as he urged Marcos' supporters to avoid pressing his hand and arm for now.
As the official campaign period for national candidates comes in full swing, candidates will do any means necessary to get as many voters as possible on their side. In the case of Marcos, it shows that the old-school campaigning style of hugging and shaking hands will not really go away.
“Kapag may personal touch, kapag may personal interaction, mas nai-increase yung chances na ma-convince ang isang voter na iboto yung candidate,” University of Sto. Tomas political science professor Dennis Coronacion told reportr in an earlier interview on the importance of physical interaction in presidential campaigns.
“Meron yun effect sa psyche ng mga tao na sa mga eleksyon lang nakikita ng mga tao nang personal yung mga kandidato. Kapag nakita ng botante na bumababa sa barangay nila yung kanilang mga kandidato, parang additional pogi points yun sa mga kandidato,” he added.
Some candidates still prefer face-to-face because it allows them to reach voters who are marginalized under the traditional political processes or do not have access to social media, such as indigenous people, ethnic minorities, and persons with disabilities, University of the Philippines political science professor Alicor Panao earlier told reportr.
“Hence, limiting campaigns to the online and social media platforms means never really reaching out to the still undecided mass of voters,” he added.
With the Comelec prohibiting physical interaction between candidates and voters during in-person campaigns due to the COVID-19 pandemic, candidates would have to come up with alternative ways to hold their campaigns.
“Campaign managers and supporters may upload their candidates' campaign videos to social media like TikTok and YouTube. Candidates may also consider getting in touch or reaching out to prospective voters and supporters via virtual events,” Panao said.
For now, Rodriguez told Marcos' supporters to avoid pressing the presidential candidate's hand and arm so that his injury would heal right away.
The official campaign period for the 2022 elections will continue until May 7, two days before election day.
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