The multimedia service portal 88DB.com, in partnership with Commission on Elections (Comelec), launched on Thursday a new socio-political networking site aimed at providing an online forum for candidates and voters ahead of the 2010 elections.
 
According to Comelec spokesman James Jimenez, the new website – www.politicalarena.com - is a logical platform to connect presidential hopefuls with their future constituency through the use of social networking tools such as blogs, chat and multimedia portals.

He said the unlimited space offered by the Internet allows candidates to engage voters in meaningful conversation that is not limited to catchphrases and sloganeering.

“Politicalarena.com is very timely, a quantum leap forward in building an informed electorate. People will now have a resource to vet the candidate before the elections and see if the candidate is worth voting for,” Jimenez said in a Makati forum. 

Candidates' profiles 

The site provides profiles of at least 20 possible presidential candidates in the 2010 elections including such names as Sen. Richard Gordon, Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro, Jesus Is Lord Movement founder Eddie Villanueva, and Pampanga Gov. Ed Panlilio. 

Racquel Cagurangan, general manager of politicalarena.com, said each perceived presidential candidate is provided a web page with a standard layout to ensure that the focus of each page is on issues that matter most to voters. She said the candidates are given personal content management systems to ensure the integrity of their information. 

She also said that any candidate who has withdrawn from the race only needs to submit a letter to be removed from the site. “In the case of Sen. Panfilo Lacson, he has already submitted a letter to us that he is withdrawing from the race,” she said. 

Pledges

She said 88DB.com is still considering a proposal that will allow supporters to pledge both time and money to their candidate through politicalarena.com. She said the site may seek sponsors to shoulder some of the cost in maintaining the site. 

Jimenez said the Comelec envisioned the site as early as 2007 in recognition of the growing online trend in the Philippines. He said, however, that the technical complexities of the idea slowed down the actual progress of the project.

Cagurangan said the website has been receiving 5,000 visits daily from 26 different countries including China, Singapore and Saudi Arabia since its launch two days ago. 

Steady increase

She said the steady increase in Web traffic to the site “shows that Filipinos here and abroad are interested in the political arena in the country.”

She said the site’s forum section will provide a community-based arena from which politicians and voters can communicate and effectively address relevant issues.

“We are working with the candidates to committing to smear-free campaigns conducted on this platform and elsewhere. Our focus is on the voters, and making sure that we provide the best one-stop-shop site that presents to them profiles and personalities of candidates,” she said. 

Among those who attended the website launch were Sen. Rodolfo Biazon, Cavite Rep. Gilbert Remulla, Bayan Muna party-list Rep. Teodoro Casiño, Muntinlupa Rep. Rozzano Rufino Biazon, Commission on Elections Chairman Jose Melo, Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting chairwoman Henrietta de Villa, and representatives of different presidential candidates.