By: Wayne Joseph Tulio

It is a well-known fact that our country is considered the text messaging capital of the world.

Text messaging is the widely used form of communication in the country and it is an avenue which most likely will be used in the upcoming national elections.

This possibility was discussed in a timely forum hosted by Liberal Philippines entitled “Cell Phones and Campaigns, A Public Forum” on January 30 at the Hotel Intercontinental in Makati.

The forum brought together a panel from the telecommunications sector who shared their views as to the pros and cons of using cell phones in the upcoming national elections.

Richard Moya of My Ayala.Com Incorporated explained to the audience that the use of cell phones can help transform the election because of its wider network coverage compared to that of the traditional landline telephones and internet which also relies on the former.

He further added that short messaging service (SMS) of mobile phones enable campaigns to continue “without physical contact” as well as relay a message ‘as short and concise” as possible.

Candy Jimenez of Mr. Musiko.com showed the possibilities of using the extra functions of cell phones as part of a candidate’s campaign. Candidate’s logos, jingles, pictures slogans and animation could be uploaded on phones and could be passed on to other cell phone users.

Roland Benzon, a former journalist and now associate of Chikka Asia, a web-based SMS program reminded the forum attendees how “SMS was used to spread the message” to help get people to gather at EDSA to protest against the then crumbling presidency of Joseph Estrada.

He also noted that SMS “compresses time and space” in relaying instructions as most Filipinos have cell phones which could be used in relaying quick count results as well as fund raising with the recent developments in phone services such as “share a load” scheme which enables a subscriber to pass on call credits to another.

Although there are numerous possibilities, the panel also pointed out that certain aspects of the use of cell phones could not work in an election campaign.

Mon Isberto, head of public affairs for Smart Communications said that “SMS is viral” because it can easily spread but like a virus, it relies on a person passing it to another and because of this he said, SMS is not part of the mass media which is the common misconception.

“It takes a conscious decision for an individual to pass on a message” Mr. Isberto said.

”People view their cell phones as their own private space, any message “may work or provoke a negative response” He further said

He explained that if the response is negative, the text message would most likely be deleted rather than passed on much like jokes that if a person “finds the joke corny, he will not spread it”.

Mr. Benzon also added that SMS “is much better used in mudslinging” of other candidates. He cited the famous Erap jokes (referring to former President Estrada) during his campaign in 1998 that spread through email and to a certain degree, through SMS.

He also said that through the “share a load” scheme of phone companies, votes could be bought using call credits instead of actual money.

Through the forum, the positives and negatives of using cell phones were touched upon and it would be interesting to see what candidates would use in their campaign in the upcoming national elections.