Atty. Neil Abayon Explains Why Filipinos Vote for Personalities over Policies

Atty. Neil Abayon breaks down the blunt political math behind why Philippine elections continue to favor personality over policy, arguing that the problem is less about voter ignorance and more about political survival. In this episode of Hey Attorney with PGMN Anchor Atty. Bernice Piñol, Abayon said winning Philippine elections comes down to what he calls “the formula”: political machinery, money and mass name recall. Without those three, he said, candidates running primarily on advocacy are lucky to secure 10% to 20% of the vote—far short of what is needed to win. Abayon, a former Congressman and ex-Deputy Minority Leader, said this helps explain why many advocacy-driven leaders either remain on the sidelines or lose early—not necessarily because their ideas are weak, but because they recognize the odds and either refuse or cannot afford to play by the formula. For Abayon, the problem is less an indictment of voters than a reflection of a democracy he considers not yet “mature.”