These days, the color of the shirt you wear here in the Philippines can tell people a lot about you. Did you know that? It’s true! The color of your shirt is very important these days!
Why?
It seems that every Presidential campaign has a certain color of shirt that the candidate wears, and many supporters of each candidate also follow suit by wearing the colors of the candidate that they support! It’s true.
As far as I know, this all started out in 1986 when Corazon Aquino ran for President against Dictator Ferdinand Marcos. Mrs. Aquino always wore a Yellow Dress, and the color came to be identified with her candidacy. As far as I know, there was nothing intentional about that, but if somebody knows otherwise, please feel free to share that information.
Today, each of the major candidates has a color that he wears and is identified with him. Let’s have a look:
Yellow: The color Yellow is naturally associated with Presidential Candidate Noynoy Aquino, since Yellow was the color that was associated with his mother, Corazon Aquino, as I mentioned above. Noynoy always wears yellow, as do others running under the Liberal Party banner.
Orange: The color Orange is the color of Philippine Presidential Candidate Manny Villar, and others running under the Nacionalista Party. Villar, a very wealthy man, is running on a statement that he grew up in a very poor family, a statement which has recently fallen into question among voters.
Green: Lakas Party’s Gilbert Teodoro is running under the Green color and is aiming to keep the party of the current administration in power. Many people say that Teodoro, or “Gibo” as he is known, is a bright candidate with many of the right answers, his connection to the Party in power seems to be tugging him lower in the surveys.
Red: Former Philippine President Joseph Estrada, “Erap” is sporting the color Red this political season. Erap was President from 1998 until early 2001, his term cut short by a People Power Revolution in January 2001. Estrada was convicted of corruption charges filed against him, but was later pardoned by President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, and is now running for that full term at the Presidency that he never got before.
There are a few more candidates in the race, but these colors represent the top candidates running for President, and their party-mates. And, it all comes down to being as simple as what color of shirt you are wearing, to determine who your candidate for the Presidency is.
How about you? What color is your shirt?
I think whomever wins will eventually wear the color of green and white with black ink (USD) and try to get as much of it as they can for themselves, family and cronies. “The Color of Money” I personally don’t have a theme to what shirts I wear but my wife says I don’t look good in green as it makes me look sickly. She likes me in yellow, black, and blues as well as white LOL
Hi richard – my shirts mostly tend to be multi-colored! 😉
Hi Bob;
Puerto Rico, Costa Rica and a lot of Central and South American Spanish Speaking countries do it also. In Puerto Rico they called the parties (for short) Red Party, Blue Party Ect. When I was in Spain I didn’t notice it there, but then I was just visiting. We in the United States are from either Red States or Blue States. I guess it makes it easier to identify who to fight, as happened in Olongapo two weeks ago. Oh! My shirt is black and says San Miguel on the back.
Hi Paul – Come to think of it, they do it in Thailand too… the Red Shirts are currently in the news for their protesting. Maybe we are the strange ones…. just coloring the State instead of our shirts!
Hmm.. you have a black shirt? BTW, who is San Miguel, and what office is he running for? 😆
San Miguel is the patron Saint of all Pacific Ocean Sailors and Island dwellers. He is a Giant among Men! Very non-political, yet politics seem to break out whenever he’s around.
Hi Paul – That San Miguel guy sounds like he has his head on straight! Maybe he can start selling those black shirts to supplement his income!
Vive la San Miguel!
I think I’ll follow Paul – as he seems a very intelligent fellow – & wear black in honour of this San Miguel fellow, as well! LOL Erap is running again? I believe I heard that Villar grew up in Tondo and started by supplying construction sites, with a couple of old trucks, but I may be wrong. So many histories seem to change as people work their way up the political ladder. With each election I hope that a real people’s candidate will take the brass ring, but so far…
Mike2
Hi Mike – I won’t comment on any candidates specifically. But, I will say that when you hear stories on how one or another of them was brought up, how he got his start, etc…. read very carefully, and research before believing any of it! 😉
Hi All
Yes the shirt colours could have been a big problem for the team on the Dental Mission in Bacolod,Nugsugbu and Aliaga.
The golf shirts we wore were in the colours of the Philippine flag ..yellow red and blue. Our filipina liason person picked the colours….oopps!!! I guess she never thought about the political fallout the colours could have caused.
We all wore them to let the people know who the members of the dental tean were. It caused alot of smiling comments but no problems.
I guess that was because we left the end of March and will not be wearing them at the height of the election fervour …like the last days just before the elections.
But I must say that my regular wardrobe uses blue and red alot. I guess this means that when I move to the Phils I will have tobe careful what I wear for about 3 months before any national election.
Great article by the way
Tyleen
Hi Tyleen – Probably, a bunch of foreigners doing good deeds to help Filipinos… the color of your shirt wouldn’t matter much to anybody! 😆
so many candidates… so few colors left…..think I’ll play it politically safe and go buck naked !!
Hi brian – 😯 Was that you who just ran by?
Hi Bob – My shirt color is white with irregular, different color polka-dots. Those dots are mostly the color of spaghetti sauce, the color of “Mama Sita’s BBQ Marinade,” the color of “Sarsa ng Lechon” and various colors of those mentioned overlaid.
I may not be eligible to vote, but I am eligible to “party with the parties”! 😆
Paul, You missed one spot. The Banana flavored Ketchup.
Aw man! I knew it would show!! 😆
Hi Paul – Ha ha… keep up the partying… you might consider changing shirts from time to time, though! 😉
Now that the Banana Ketchup stain has been spotted, I guess I’ll have to! 😆
Hi Paul – I have a good labandera that I can recommend! 😉
The shirt thing is also used in Ukraine as in the Orange Revolution about 4 years ago. Personally I mostly wear blue, but I have other shirts of various colors, and some strips. My wife likes my bright red shirt, I wonder if she is supporting Erap though she doesn’t wear red herself (usually multicolored). I will be glad when the elections are over since the locals like to ride around Tagum with a PA blasting.
Hi Richard – Yeah, those blaring speakers pass by here all the time too! That was one good thing about Holy Week, the candidates were not allowed to campaign and we got a break from the blaring trucks!
Hi Bob,
I guess this color thing has been around for awhile. In Ireland There’s the wearing of the green, or orange if your protestant. And If your at the airport the white zone is for loading and unloading passengers only, blue for handicap, I think green is for 20 minute parking…But I like the San Miguel thing. And remember Friday is Hawaiian shirt day:)
Ha ha… good one, hudson!
There’s actually a bit of historical significance to Aquino yellow:
It dates back all the way to the late early 80’s & Cory Aquino’s husband, Sen. Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino (also considered a modern national hero & staunch Marcos foe).
Based on the old tune “Tie A Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree.” It was Sen. Aquino’s favorite song and came to signify support for his return from his 3 year exile in the US. His supporters would tie yellow ribbons on poles & trees (just like the song). He was then assassinated on the airport tarmac on his return.
When Cory ran against Marcos in ’86, the yellow ribbon symbolized her husband’s matrydom as well as her presidential campaign. Interestingly, Marcos, ran with his own colors: Red, White & Blue.
that ’86 election had numerous colored ribbons tied to streets posts & trees. It became red, white & blue vs. yellow ribbons. And because this election led to the EDSA people power uprising, another layer of resonance is added to the color yellow. Layer after layer.
Since then, later elections have used this color idea since it has been effective in identifying a campaign.
So, it’s really more of the Yellow ribbon. Rival campaigns have tried to copy the ribbon theme, with less success. — That’s why you see orange & green ribbons nowadays…. For me, it doesn’t seem to resonate as much because the whole idea was based on a song about a yellow ribbon.
Interesting note: another pres. candidate, Bro. Eddie Villanueva, also claims the yellow theme and says he came up with it first…but no one really believes that because, really, how can you compete with the Aquino story?
Hi macky – Thanks for filling me in with more info on the Aquino/Yellow story. I didn’t know much, if any of that. I appreciate the update.
On the Estrada color:
I believe his color, like Villar, is also orange (not red). It was also his color when he successfully ran for president in 1998 (and was unseated in a popular uprising in 2001).
His look had quite an ensemble during that ’98 campaign. He had a white towel draped around his neck and rode on a jeepney on campaign rallies, looking like the everyman jeepney driver (He ran a campaign theme called “JEEP ni Erap” (Erap’s Jeep), an acronym that now escapes me.
He even sported an orange armband as part of his macho action star image and his campaign would give out free orange armbands on campaign rally.
For sure measure, his nickname “Erap” is “Pare” backward. It means buddy or pal in colloquial tagalog.
He won with in a landslide and was then unseated 3 years later in a popular uprising.
Both Estrada & Villar have acknowledged & joked about the fact that they share the same color without any animosity. Estrada likes to take friendly digs at his rival that he picked the color first.
Really? Wow, I thought that Estrada was Red! I guess his shade of orange is darker and more red-looking than Villar’s. Thanks for the clarification, macky.
Evening Everyone,
I really don’t have a fovorite color shirt just happens to the one I pull from the drawer in the morning talk about color netural.
Oh By the way did you know that San Migel has never lost an election
to anyone thanks to his influencial powers of relaxation. LOL
Hi Michels5098 – Ha ha… that San Miguel guy is really something, isn’t he! I’m surprised he isn’t running for President!
San Miguel for President seems to have garnered grassroots support on LIP; (lucky we can’t vote) The Magoo’s party’s platform is, to guarantee all Barangay will be Dragon free, as Dragon slaying is what Miguel is known for. I know this is a winning platform as to date I’ve not encountered a Dragon in my purok, and we do search every month, similar to “Elephant Patrol” which used to be held weekly in all bars in Olongapo City years ago. And yes BTW Olongapo is and remains Elephant free, thanks to the dedication of all the members. We all wore white gaudy American Legion shirts then.
Paul – OK, let’s get serious now, my friend. We need to organize and make this more official. I am here to say that it appears that you are the number 1 supporter, and also the most knowledgeable about this San Miguel fellow. Because of this, I propose that you be the campaign manager. It might be too late to get him on the ballot for 2010, but perhaps we could wage a write-in campaign!
AHH YES!!!
When I was staioned their we use to gather at our favorite spot 168 after work and hold homage to the great patron saint of all west coast saliors San Miguel. He’s more popular and powerful than that old Coca Cola song in the 60’s.
where are the absentee ballots!!
Pink and blue. As a newly minted dual citizen, I voted in the Phil elections (overseas ballot) first time in my life. I hate pink but I like the guys.
Anyway, the overseas voting is such a breeze. No drama – you register (retina scan, digital fingerprint) then they send you the ballot. Just like 1st world overseas voting.
But I’m really hoping pink and blue.
Hello, Bob!
And a belated Happy Easter to everyone!
Personally, I prefer Mr. Richard Gordon as my president. (I don’t think he has a color of choice he would like to associate with). Among the presidential candidates, Mr. Noynoy Aquino would be a secondary choice of my mine. So I’m not wearing a shirt of any particular color to show support for any of the four leading candidates. Even though Gordon’s vice-president, Mr. Bayani Fernando has a penchant for the color pink (like those pink urinals on the sidewalks of the Metro), I don’t prefer pink for a shirt color. Haha!
Good day!
Hi JR – I like Gordon and think he would make a good President. He has more of a business like manner about him, it seems to me! Unfortunately, he doesn’t seem to be too popular though!
Yes, Bob!
That’s quite unfortunate. We have to admit these elections in the country are mostly popularity contents, rather than a contest of platforms. Before, I preferred Villar but recently with the C5 Road controversy in which he was the one mainly accused, I didn’t like the way he handles the case against him. The same may be said of Noynoy with the Hacienda Luisita. Noynoy obviously is riding on the popularity of his revered parents, well at least most of the time, and with Erap, nah, this country’s gotta move on. Gilbert Teodoro is a fine choice for me, too. They say he’s brilliant, but unfortunately for him, too, his alliance with the current administration is giving him a setback.
So, wow! This election season is really getting exciting. And this is the Philippine’s first automated elections (finally!), and we can expect results in as early as 2 days, well at least according to Comelec. And so I’m excited, too! 😀
Hi JR – I’ve been wondering if results would be faster with the automated procedure. I had not heard the news on that, but I’m glad to hear that it is expected to be available in just 2 days!
Hi, Bob!
Yes, I understand we all have some reservations with the results being faster and more secure than the traditional (i.e., manual)procedure. Some areas have weak cell phone signals through which the results are transmitted to the servers of Comelec, and not to mention other impeding factors such as sabotage, confusion among voters on the procedure, missing voter’s names, etc.
Well, we’ll see on May 10!