Comparing the recent Philippine election with the past ones, one would notice the great dependence on media during the campaign of the candidates in the recent race. It seems that most candidates really knew the extent of the media's influence on the outcome of the elections. Moreover, the results of the election further indicate how much media plays a part in our decisions for our country. Harold Lasswell's communication model can be used to evaluate this recent event and see why some candidates prevailed and others did not.
             The first stage of Lasswell's model, "Who", seeks to explain who is in control. It would be reasonable to argue that those who were "in control" in the campaign period were those who won seats in the government. In relation to George Gerbner's model, those who were "in control" were those who had access to the media. During the campaign period, TV audiences were bombarded with political advertisements, of which candidates spent millions, especially during prime time. Because of this expensive way of campaigning, we can conclude that riches played a great part in the recent elections. Money was one way of gaining access to the media in order to reach people of different sectors. Their frequent appearances have helped them gain recognition.
             Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo reportedly spent P333 million while Fernando Poe Jr. used up 92.1 million. Noli de Castro was said to have spent P89.6 million while his main vice presidential rival, Loren Legarda spent P64.9 million. Another VP candidate, Herminio Aquino declared in his statement of expenditures and contributions a total of P6.58 million, way below compared to that of the other two candidates' expenses. Among the senatorial bets, Manuel "Mar" Roxas, the candidate with the most votes, declared he spent P94.73 million. Next to him in the race was Ramon "Bong" Revilla who reportedly cashed out 29.1 million. Ramon Montaño declared he was just P10,000 and ...