Campaign Convos

Campaign teams are a candidate’s arsenal for organizing sorties, dealing with local politicians, coordinating with media, managing communications and political ads, and touching base with volunteers.

In this episode, Rappler reporters talk about the key personalities in the campaign teams of Ferdinand Marcos Jr., Leni Robredo, Isko Moreno, Manny Pacquiao, Panfilo Lacson, and Leody de Guzman.

Go behind the scenes of the controversial Easter Sunday joint press conference of three presidential candidates in Manila Peninsula Hotel. Rappler reporters Rambo Talabong, Jairo Bolledo, Pia Ranada, and Aika Rey talk about the fireworks of the media briefing and what happened after.

Holy Week during an election year is always a key milestone. Taking place less than a month before election day, it’s a benchmark for where the candidates are in their campaigns.

It is also a time for reflection – for candidates, volunteers, politicians, and voters. Candidates don’t hold major campaign events during Holy Thursday and Good Friday. In this spirit, this episode lets you ask the questions. We crowdsourced your queries through social media posts on all our platforms and compiled them, and reporters respond to them on-air.

Bakit matunog sa eleksiyong ito ang konsepto ng withdrawal ng isang kandidato?

In this 10th episode of Campaign Convos, Rappler reporters talk about the forces behind calls for certain candidates to withdraw, and whether such calls are wise or even timely. What would happen if Isko Moreno withdraws, which some Leni Robredo supporters want? Would it really lead to the outcome they want?

Underlining these recent calls are the failed 2021 unity talks initiated by the Vice President herself. What happened back then? How are we suffering the consequences of that failure now?

Are Kakampinks elitist? Does “masa appeal” still matter for a presidential candidate? Why does Ferdinand Marcos Jr., a scion of a wealthy political family, seem to captivate even the poorest in the country? Is Isko Moreno’s populist branding working?

In this episode, listen to Rappler campaign reporters talk about how the class divide is affecting campaigns of presidential and vice-presidential bets, and how it could influence the outcome of the high-stakes polls in May.

AND I QUOTE: Partido Reporma president Pantaleon Alvarez tell Rappler's Mara Cepeda why his support for Vice President Leni Robredo isn't about protection from Sara Duterte.

Former Duterte ally Pantaleon Alvarez endorses Leni. Duterte party PDP-Laban goes for Marcos Jr. Mocha Uson backs Isko. These string of unexpected endorsements have got us all pulling our hair.

Join Rappler campaign reporters discuss and dissect these latest developments in episode 8 of Campaign Convos, weekly kudahan about events shaping the 2022 election season.

What do these alliances and realignments mean for the presidential candidates and who will win in May? How impactful are endorsements in an election where the front-runner has garnered as much as 60% of voter preference, based on some surveys?

AND I QUOTE: Vice President Leni Robredo justifies why an alliance with former Duterte enabler Pantaleon Alvarez is consistent with her campaign's thrust.

Rappler reporters invite fellow campaign reporters from other networks to give you a peek into the world of a journalist covering a presidential election.

Veteran television journalist Jorge Cariño of ABS-CBN and TV5 correspondent Dale De Vera join Rappler reporters Mara Cepeda, Bea Cupin, and Pia Ranada in talking about the daily challenges reporters face on the campaign trail and how they affect news coverage.

What’s the best and worst thing about covering a campaign? What are the challenges in dealing with candidates’ campaign teams? Where to strike the balance between chumminess with a candidate and the need for professional distance?

'AND I QUOTE': Listen to Senator Imee Marcos evade a question by Rappler reporter Dwight de Leon about her family's huge estate tax debt.

Isko hits Marcos for estate tax, Ping insinuates Leni rally participants are communists. Candidates are taking swipes at one another in different ways. In a cut-throat electoral race, that is par of the course. Rappler campaignreporters talk about the art of effective negative campaigning and what criticisms might dent Marcos Junior’s lead.

‘AND I QUOTE’: Senatorial candidate Carl Balita defends his standard-bearer Isko Moreno from criticisms of his English grammar during a March 11 press conference.

As March is Women’s Month, in this new episode of Campaign Convos, Rappler campaign reporters talk about the candidacies of Leni Robredo and Sara Duterte, the lone women in their respective 2022 races.

Out of 10 presidential candidates, Robredo is the sole woman. Out of nine vice presidential bets, Duterte is the only woman. In the Senate race, women are also the minority – only 7 out of 64. While Robredo and Sara are both empowering women in their own right, their candidacies are very different and are at opposite ends of the political spectrum.

What does it mean to be a woman running for political office? How has being a woman shaped their candidacies? How do voters perceive female candidates?

“AND I QUOTE”: Listen to an excerpt from Mara Cepeda’s interview with political science professor Jean Encinas-Franco about how Leni Robredo is perceived by voters.

In this episode, Rappler campaign reporters try to answer this question: Bakit nga ba mahilig ang Pilipino sa tandem-splitting? (Why are Filipinos fond of splitting official tandems?) In post-EDSA Revolution history, only one official tandem was voted together – Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and Noli de Castro in the 2004 elections. In the 2022 elections, there are groups backing Isko-Sara, another one backing Ro-Sa. What other interesting combinations can we expect? And what’s the impact of tandem-splitting on official tandems and their campaign strategy?

"AND I QUOTE": Vice President Leni Robredo is asked to react to ROSA, or Robredo-Sara, an unofficial tandem formed by some of her supporters in which she is paired with Bongbong Marcos' running mate Sara Duterte.

This episode is about how the many ways surveys shape the rollercoaster campaign period. Rappler's campaign reporters talk about the perception war that candidates and their campaign teams wage and where surveys fit in. How affected are candidates by their standing in survey results? How do surveys inform their strategies on the ground?

"AND I QUOTE": This episode features a short clip from a door-stop interview with Isko Moreno during his La Union trip last February 17. Moreno, asked about recent surveys, says he believes in a "silent majority" and gains confidence from how people show up for his motorcades and town hall meetings.

In this episode, campaign reporters discuss how candidates managed to use their proclamation rallies to project strength by gathering their political allies and even friends in showbiz. Proclamation rallies are where politics and entertainment collide. Dancing politicians? Check. Campaign jingles performed by artistas? Check. Lights, camera, speech!

"AND I QUOTE:" This episode also features a clip of Rambo Talabong asking the Ping Lacon-Tito Sotto tandem about members of their senatorial slate who appear to be supporting Bongbong Marcos and Sara Duterte.

Episode 1: Kumusta ang candidates 'pag naho-hotseat ng media?

In this first episode of Campaign Convos, campaign reporters talk about how presidential and VP candidates deal with media – whether it's during sit-down interviews, in Viber groups hosted by their communication teams, or in direct messages with journalists. How did the presidential bets do in the Jessica Soho and Boy Abunda interviews? How have candidates turned to social media to avoid scrutiny from journalists and dictate the narratives of their campaigns? What does the public lose when a candidate refuses the hot seat?

"AND I QUOTE:" This episode also features a short clip from reporter Pia Ranada's interview with Isko Moreno chief of staff Let Zarcal about a 'miscalculation' made by the mayor.