HERBERT BAUTISTA
Government positions held: Vice-mayor
Previous employment: Comedian

Just in his 30s, Herbert Bautista is already a showbiz veteran, having first appeared in movies and television as a child and taking on comedy roles in his older years. He often acted as sidekick to leading men, whether dramatic actors, comedians, or action stars.

Bautista has been playing the role of junior star or supporting actor even in his political career. His route into politics was first through the Kabataang Barangay, which he presided for six years. He then won a seat in the Quezon City Council and then became vice mayor, the position once held by fellow comedian Tito Sotto.

In 1998, Bautista aligned himself with the Lapian ng Masang Pilipino or LAMP, the coalition formed to support Joseph Estrada's candidacy for president. He got LAMP's blessings to run for mayor but was unable to defeat third-termer and seasoned politician Ismael Mathay for the post. While he was president, Estrada named Bautista National Youth Commissioner.

Bautista continued to aspire for higher office. At one point, he was said to be contemplating running for the congressional seat in Quezon City once occupied by another youth leader, Mike Defensor.

In the 2001 elections, however, Bautista again had to step aside to allow action star Rudy Fernandez, another Estrada supporter, to fulfill his political ambitions. Bautista became running mate and vice-mayoralty bet to Fernandez, who ran for mayor. Bautista won even if Fernandez didn't and continues to play sidekick to former House Speaker and present Quezon City Mayor Feliciano Belmonte.

VILMA SANTOS
Government positions held: Mayor
Previous employment: Dramatic Actress

The two most prominent female show biz celebrities-turned politicians -

Lipa City Mayor Vilma Santos and Camarines Sur Vice Governor Imelda Papin - manage to avoid the limelight. Both quietly hold local positions in turfs far from Metro Manila and the prying eyes of the Manila-based press and are believed not to be interested in publicity en route to national positions.

The public knows all too well that Vilma Santos entered politics because of her husband, Ralph Recto, grandson of the late nationalist Senator Claro M. Recto. Santos ran for and won the mayoralty in the Rectos' hometown in 1998, the same year her husband won a congressional seat in Batangas province.

Being one of the country's A-list actresses assured her of media attention. It also kept the public constantly reminded of her husband, who was then hatching plans to run for the Senate. During the 2001 senatorial race, Santos campaigned vigorously for Recto as did fellow actress Sharon Cuneta for her husband Francis Pangilinan.

But while Pangilinan landed in the upper rungs of the winners' ladder, Recto barely made it. Pangilinan could claim to being a lawyer; in comparison, Recto had no expertise nor experience in a particular field to boast of, and the increasingly youthful voting population had all but forgotten the name of his illustrious forebear. Although the Recto name still carries some cache and recall, Ralph Recto's more bankable asset was a name not his own: Vilma Santos.

Santos herself was thrust into politics because of her affinity with the Rectos and has cultivated the image of being a politician interested in good governance. Right after winning the 1998 elections, Santos embarked on a crash course on public administration at the University of the Philippines. She has adopted a variety of causes ranging from agriculture to the environment, although she had, at one point, gotten much flak for spending only half her time in Batangas and neglecting her official duties to be with her family in Manila.

Santos has fared much better in politics than the other star of her generation, Nora Aunor, who ran for governor of Camarines Sur in 2001. Not even Aunor's name nor her belated denunciation of ex-lover Joseph Estrada during the Edsa 2 gatherings could charm the voting public in Camarines Sur.

IMELDA PAPIN
Government positions held: Vice Governor
Previous employment: Singer

Singer Imelda Papin did better than the bigger singer and superstar Nora Aunor in Camarines Sur.

Papin is a former "Jukebox Queen" who became famous in the 1970s and 80s for singing teary Tagalog love songs. She openly admits that she was named after former First Lady Imelda Marcos, with whom she has become good friends. The two even recorded an album together, a limited edition cassette that had the title, "Imelda Papin featuring Imelda Romualdez Marcos, " which included the older Imelda's signature songs "Dahil Sa Iyo" and "Feelings."

When Papin ran for vice governor in 1998, however, her name was no longer a byword. But she still commanded a following, at least among the masa in the Bicol region, and she won. Longtime politician Luis Villafuerte of the Laban ng Demokratikong Pilipino (LDP), meanwhile, got the top provincial post. Papin soon learned that being a member of the rival political party Lakas-NUCD was an obstacle, at least in her getting things done. She realized that funds for her projects were being blocked simply because she did not belong to the province's ruling party.

By the time she sought reelection three years later, Papin had wizened up to politics. Instead of fighting the provincial capitol, she joined it. Papin enlisted in the LDP and became Villafuerte's running mate in the 2001 elections. It was the Villafuerte-Papin team that defeated Nora Aunor and her running mate Emmanuel Llaguno.