Shortcut to a Long Fight: the Impact of Charisma on Party Switching in the Philippines

This paper analyzes the pattern of party switching among politicians in the Philippines. As such this paper wishes to answer the question, what are the factors that determine party switching in the Philippines? The Philippines is a multi-party democracy wherein all possible political parties are given the chance to contest in elections. However, during the process of selecting candidates for key positions to be contested, political parties are faced with both the problems of deficiency and the surplus of candidates to be fielded for political positions up for elections. In many instances even recognized and established political parties are faced with the problem of the lack of potential candidates to be fielded to key elective positions during elections. This has been for example the problem of the popular Liberal Party which was hard up in selecting a Vice Presidential candidate that will team up with its presidential candidate during the May 2016 Philippine national election. Given this problem, the party settled on a lesser known politician who came to fame and was thrust to the political limelight as the wife of a popular Secretary of the Department of the Interior and Local Government who died in a plane crash while on his way to Naga City his hometown from official business in Cebu City in central Philippines. On the other hand, the Partido Demokratiko Pilipino - Lakas Ng Bayan (PDP-Laban) was swarmed with Vice Presidential hopefuls who were willing to switch to the party especially after a well-known mayor of Davao City in the southern Philippine island of Mindanao, was firmed up as the presidential candidate of the party. This paper argues that money and political machinery although important factors in winning in an election are not the primary consideration for politicians in switching parties. As such I will focus my investigation on the role of charisma of certain politicians as a factor that influences other politicians to switch parties. This is because many lesser known politicians wish to be identified with popular and charismatic politicians and be on the same party together. In going about this paper, I wish to advance the hypothesis that party switching in the Philippines as a developing country is not purely influenced by the money or resources and the machinery of the party for politicians to switch to such parties but the charisma of candidates of the party also draws other candidates to switch to the party of such charismatic politicians. This is a qualitative study and references will be made to books, journals and newspaper and internet articles.