Over two weeks into the national campaign, it’s clear that Senator Bato dela Rosa is a prime target of the Marcos administration.
With attacks like “Wala sa kanila ang may bahid ng dugo dahil sa tokhang. (None [in our Senate ticket] has blood on their hands due to tokhang” from no less than President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to “Batu-bato sa langit tamaan ay huwag magalit…” from new Palace press officer Claire Castro, the former national police chief is in for a tough campaign.
Fortunately for him, it appears that his reelection bid is off to a great start.
If the analysis of marketing and campaign strategist Alan German is correct, voter support for Dela Rosa will likely see a continued uptick in the coming weeks, thanks to a “brilliant” campaign ad. The ad may already have had an impact since the January 2025 Pulse Asia pre-election senatorial survey reflected a 4.3-percentage point increase in support for Dela Rosa from Pulse Asia’s November-December 2024 survey.
“Have you heard the jingle of Bato? You haven’t heard it?” German asked veteran journalist Christian Esguerra in a recent guesting on the latter’s Facts First online show.
“If you hear that jingle, I promise you, it will get stuck in your head. It’s brillantly composed. Hats off, kudos sa gumawa ng jingle na ‘yon (Hats off to those who made that jingle). Great jingle. It has all of the touch points. Meron (It has) ‘yes sir, yes sir,’ there’s a signature dance, the tune is very catchy. How can you beat a campaign jingle like, ‘Itaga mo sa Bato (Write it in stone),’” he said when asked which of the campaigns of the senatorial candidates are standing out.
For those who have not seen or heard Dela Rosa’s 30-second campaign jingle, it goes like this:
Sumabay ang lahat
Kasama si Bato...yes sir
Siya ang magtatanggol
Iingatan tayo…yes sir
Kailangan natin siya
Mabait na tao…yes sir
Walang maapi
Pag nandiyan si Bato…yes sir
Itaga niyo si Bato
Talagang ligtas tayo…yes sir
Iba’t-ibang sektor
Natin sa lipunan…yes sir
Sagot ko kayo
Itaga niyo sa bato…yes sir
If the lyrics seem familiar, that’s because they take off rom a hit song “Jumbo Hotdog” by the all-male group Masculados. Dela Rosa’s team couldn’t have picked a better song for the supposed chief undertaker of the Duterte administration’s bloody war on drugs: it’s masculine, has great recall, and most of all, it’s entertaining. (Whether the lyrics are true is an entirely different matter.)
You can watch the original music video of Masculados below:
Entertainment, of course, is what many voters want to see when candidates visit their town or city. (Not that it’s right, but it could be one reason why the militant left has yet to win a seat in the Senate.) It’s only every three years that they get such entertainment from senatorial bets, some of whom sing, dance, play a musical instrument, or bring along their celebrity partners (if applicable) so voters will remember them.
Recall how some campaign ads and jingles have done wonders for a number of candidates. There’s the “Mr. Palengke” (Mr. Market) campaign of former trade secretary Mar Roxas, sung to the tune of Parokya Ni Edgar’s “Mr. Suave,” which catapulted him to the top of the senatorial race in 2004. [READ: Sipag at Tiyaga, Mr Palengke and 4 other memorable ads]
Reelectionist Senator Bong Go’s “Otso-otso” campaign jingle in 2019, sung by Bayani Agbayani, is another example of an entertaining ad. It helped Go secure a third-place finish in just his first attempt at a national post (with much help, of course, from then-president Rodrigo Duterte). [READ: Campaign jingles that live rent-free in our heads — whether we like it or not]
The not-so-good ads
At the other end of the spectrum, German rated badly the campaign ads of administration bets former interior chief Ben Abalos, Las Piñas Congresswoman Camille Villar, and reelectionist Senator Imee Marcos.
In the case of the former Mandaluyong mayor, German said Abalos’ initial slogan, “Kalaban ng Kriminal” (Opponent of Criminals) violated the “sight and sound suitability” rule because it sounded like “Kalabang Kriminal” (A criminal opponent).
In the case of Villar, German said her “Bagong Boses, Bagong Bukas” (New Voice, New Tomorrow) campaign ad simply doesn’t match reality.
“I can’t for the life of me see the logic behind Camille Villar’s ad…di ko maintindihan ‘yung (I don’t understand the) thinking behind bagong mukha (new face), out with the old, in with the new. Out with the old politikos (politicians), kailangan bagong politika naman (that we need new politics instead).
“There’s this thing called reason to believe. So, you’re branding yourself as the bagong mukha (new face) when, in fact, you’re a Villar…you’ve had three relatives who have been in the highest positions of power so strange choice,” German said. These three are Camille’s father, former Senate president Manny; her mother, outgoing Senator Cynthia; and brother, incumbent Senator Mark.
Similarly, in the case of Imee Marcos, the campaign strategist said her “Imee Solusyon” campaign ad is not backed by what people see on the ground.
“She could have done a lot better with P1 billion. Kasi ‘yung Imee Solusyon, it’s almost an afterthought, hindi nya kinontextualize ‘yon, hindi siya nagpakita ng pang-araw-araw na ehemplo o halimbawa of solutions being given to everyday problems ng mga Pilipino. It’s just her riding a boat, riding a vinta, nasa bukid, nasa may Mindanao, nasa may rice fields, tapos may, Imee Solusyon. Sayang, sayang,” he said.
(Because the Imee Solution, it’s almost an afterthought, it’s not contextualized. It doesn’t show examples or solutions being given to everyday problems of Filiinos. It’s just riding a boat, riding a vinta, she’s on a farm, she’s in Mindanao, and there’s an Imee Solution. What a waste.)
These three administration candidates aren’t doing as well as they should, given the large amount of money they’ve spent in their campaign, based on a study by the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism. – Rappler.com
