220. Political Ads: YULO-MACAPAGAL of the Liberal Party, 1957

The 1957 Presidential Elections of the Philippines saw the candidacies of several distinguished Filipino politicians from different major parties. The elections were held in the year that the country was still reeling from the airplane crash death of President Ramon Magsaysay in March. Vice president, Carlo Garcia had to assume his office and serve the  remaining 8 months of the deceased president’s term.

 

SLOGANEERING. Yulo's camp launched a slogan-making contest to engage voters.

When the official election season of 1957 kicked off, the major contenders for the executive posts of President and Vice-President respectively, included incumbent Carlos P. Garcia and Jose Laurel Jr. (Nacionalista Party),   Jose Yulo and Diosdado Macapagal (Liberal Party), Manuel Manahan and Vicente Araneta (Progressive Party) and Claro M. Recto and Lorenzo Tañada  (Nationalist  Citizens’ Party) .

WINNING BY WORDSMITHING. 50 pesos for weekly winners!

José Yulo (b. 24 Sep.1894/d. 27 Oct. 1976) was born in Bago, Negros Occidental. A U.P. law graduate, and a bar topnotcher, he rose to become the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the Philippines (1942-45) during the Japanese Occupation. Previous to this, he was  the Speaker of the Philippine House of Representatives from 1939-41.  He had the distinction of serving in all he branches of the government.

 

MAKE MAC WIN! The Macapagal camp organized pro-Macapagal groups that they 
could mobilize for cascading information and distribution of campaign materials.

Running mate Diosdado Macapagal (b. 28 Sep. 1910/d. 21 Apr. 1997) was an alumni of the University of the Philippines and University of Santo Tomas, and worked as a government  lawyer. His political career began in 1949 when he was elected as a Pampanga congressman.

The Yulo-Macapagal tandem had many campaign stunts to engage the voting public—and among these were a Slogan-Making Contest, with a weekly cash prize of Php 50.00 for the winning slogan.

 

HOW-TO'S ON MAKING A MAC GROUP IN YOUR COMMUNITY, 1957 Ad

Macapagal, on the other hand, promoted the organization of pro-Macapagal groups in Philippine communities, a network support to help push his candidacy in the provinces. They were equipped with campaign materials for posting in their neighborhoods, and the officials were used to cascade information about Macapagal’s platform to people in far-flung places.

It would seem that Macapagal’s gimmick worked better than that of Yulo, as after all the votes were counted, he found himself the runaway winner of the Vice Presidential position, beating Jose Laurel Jr. Yulo, on the other hand, placed second to Carlos Garcia. This was the first time that the elected president and vice president came from different parties. Macapagal would eventually be elected the 9th President of the Philippines in 1961.

Today, political stunts and gimmicks are threatening to overshadow the competence and credentials of candidates—remembered more for their Voltes 5 jingles, useless giveaways, silly slogans, ridiculous posters and cash prizes. Politics, after all, is about public service, not public entertainment, of which we already have enough these days.