In a country where imagery and symbols are at least as important as substance, she came to symbolize the jailed leader's struggle against Arroyo's administration.
"She is the wife who maintained loyalty despite the philandering of the husband. It is just like the movies," Mendoza said, referring to Estrada's admission of relationships with other women. "The imagery is of a noble martyr. That will sell at the box office."
However, surveys indicate Estrada's popularity has not rubbed off much. His wife barely made the top 13 in the latest poll by the independent Social Weather Stations. The survey indicated the administration coalition will capture eight of the 13 available seats.
If that prediction bears out, that would give the administration control of only half the Senate. Most measures are passed by simple majority votes. Even then, many times in the past, senators have not voted along party lines or affiliations and it is common for them to support administration measures.
A setback for Arroyo-backed candidates could spell trouble for her government as the 54-year-old daughter of a former president tries to demonstrate leadership in improving quality of life to boost her bid for her own six-year presidential term in 2004.
Some analysts say an opposition majority in congress could block passage of crucial measures needed to spur the economy. Others downplay that prospect.
"In the scheme of things, there are very few `must have' bills out there, so that if congress were to remain uncooperative for all these years, it wouldn't paralyze government," said Bill Luz, executive director of the influential Makati Business Club.
Luz said the only crucial measure is a power reform law aimed at preventing crippling outages.
He said, however, that a strong opposition could block Cabinet appointments, which could hamper project implementation.
He said foreign investors are watching the election "with a bit of curiosity and a bit of concern."
"I think the paramount importance is that it runs smoothly, meaning it's not going to be fraud-laden, because when it's fraud-laden then the results become suspect," he said.
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