Dr. Meinardus asked me a similar question during our seminar evaluation last week. The same question has been asked a lot of times before and Ms. Susan Ople shed some light on this matter a few months back when we met over coffee with Manolo.
As far as I know, only Davao City Councilor Peter Lavina is actively blogging from the class of political figures. There was that news over at Inq7.net about Sen. Mar Roxas joining the blogosphere but it wasn’t really him who was blogging (ask Janette Toral).
There’s the blog of Vice Mayor Alvin Fernandez (Dagupan City) but based on the entries dating back to May 2005, looks like he’s not the one personally blogging. The site is more like a Press Release blog, a common form of evolution from the ordinary News/Updates section of a regular website.
So going back to question – why isn’t blogging part of a politician’s tool for communication and advocacy?
There could be a lot of reasons and Ms. Ople told me they don’t have time for it and if they do ever come up with a blog, they’ll ask someone (could be a secretary or PR officer) to blog for them instead.
I think it’s more about the fact that these people do not believe in the power/reach of the internet, and thus blogging is merely an exercise in futility. In a country where only 10% of the population is connected online, mainstream media will still rule. TV appearances and radio talks definitely generate a lot of buzz and exposure. With elections being held just every 3 years, there’s too little time to blog your way to the voting precincts.
Can any1 teach me how to reach a certain politician? I can’t find any contact number regarding a certain politician.