IT’S been said that “victory finds a hundred fathers, but defeat is an orphan.” This quote accurately sums up the fate of three Catholic priests who threw their hats — or habits if you will — in the political ring in this year’s midterm elections.

While Father Ed Panlilio‘s electoral victory has been hailed as a triumph of good versus evil, and has even merited a statement from the influential Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP), which welcomed the “exceptional” victory, not a squeak was heard about the fate of two other priests who ran — but lost — in the May 14 elections. Their names, much like their crusades, have faded into political oblivion.

Panlilio, who ran for governor, anchored his campaign on providing a “credible alternative candidate” for the people of Pampanga. The incumbent governor, Mark Lapid, has been accused of pocketing bribes from quarrying operations in the province, while the other candidate, Provincial Board member Lilia Pineda, has been associated with jueteng, being the wife of alleged gambling lord Rodolfo “Bong” Pineda.

Panlilio vowed to stop corruption and gambling in Pampanga. He won, despite being the subject of a smear campaign for allegedly fathering children with different women, a charge he vehemently denied.

In Occidental Mindoro, Father Ronilo Omanio’s gubernatorial bid seemed to mirror Panlilio’s: man of the cloth running for a local position, seeking to provide an alternative to long-time politician and incumbent governor Josephine Ramirez-Sato, and banking on the people’s sentiments against issues like mining and small town lottery.

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ALMOST everyone running for public office believes that a considerable sum of money is needed for a respectable campaign. But as several candidates in the recently concluded midterm elections are finding out, pouring tens of millions of pesos into an ad campaign is no guarantee of a win.

Of those included in the media research firm AC Nielsen’s list of top 12 ad spenders among the senatorial candidates, only four so far are among the Commission on Elections’ (Comelec) winning dozen. The number one ad spender by AC Nielsen’s count, Team Unity’s Prospero Pichay, occupies a far 16th slot in the Comelec list.

Some political strategists and analysts say that many of the candidates’ handlers simply misread the political landscape and thought people were still easily swayed by glitz and glamour. But Filipino voters have apparently wised up, and now look for substance in the people they will vote into office.

For sure, there are still those who fail to see the real persona behind a candidate’s media image. Experts say, though, that more and more voters have become discerning — or at least try to be — and now look for clues on what the candidate will eventually do once he or she is elected into office.

For ads to appeal to voters and make them consider a candidate, therefore, the basic ingredients would be resonance, believability, and relevance, say experts. And these, they say, should not necessarily mean a hefty price tag.

We hope the piece, as part of i Report ’s current series on Elections 2007, would help your readers look back at the elections in a new light — and perhaps reflect on how they arrived at their choices on election day.

Read on at pcij.org.