When I first touched a toe in The Philippines in 2004, I was surprised by how far ahead they were in the switch from videotape to DVDs. We were still selling both in the United States so I had brought boxes of video cassettes for training. I was surprised there were no VHS machines for sale in the country. I had to buy a used machine off of one of our new salespeople to start the classes. But that was only one of the many advances and innovations I was to discover over the years, (stories for another time).
It wasn’t until 2016, however, I learned of their unfailing prognosticator of Presidential Election results: The 7-Eleven paper cup poll. All the candidates for office get their name and picture on a cup. When you go in to buy a soda you pick the cup of your favorite candidate. There is also an undecided cup. Each cup has its own barcode. 7-Eleven keeps a tally and publishes the results which, to-date, have never failed.
Below is a picture of my collection; 6 unused cups in pristine condition. The candidates were Jejomar Binay, Rodrigo Duterte (Spoiler Alert, Mr. Duterte won), Mar Roxas, Grace Poe (No relation to Edgar Allan…or is there?), Miriam Defensor Santiago, and the mysterious “Undecided.” I actually paid for six drinks just to get the cups but it seems that my investment was very wise indeed. I am offering them for sale for $1,000,000 or PHP 1,000,000; whatever, I just want a million of something.
Now I know that sounds like a ridiculously inflated price, but if your President is anything like our last President he would gladly pay a million dollars for a picture of himself!
