A political analyst and professor from the University of Santo Tomas (UST) believes that "reluctant candidates" appeal to Filipino voters and have been a part of the Philippine political culture.

In an interview with TeleRadyo, UST Professor Dennis Coronacion said Filipino voters are often turned off by candidates who seem eager to get elected.

"Parte na ng kulturang politika nating yung tinatawag na reluctant candidates. Kumbaga appealing sa Filipino voters, electorates yung mga pakipot na mga kandidato (The so called reluctant candidates are already part of our political culture. They appeal to Filipino voters more)," Coronacion noted.

"Natu-turn off yung electorate sa mga kalase ng kandidato na parang excited na maihalal. So dahil ganun, ang parte ng campaign strategy ng mga karamihan ng kandidato natin ay i-portray ang sarili nila as reluctant candidates na hindi excited na magkaroon ng public position (Voters are usually turned off by candidates who seem excited to be elected. So because of that, it is used as a campaign strategy. Candidates often present themselves as reluctant candidates who are not excited to hold a public position)," he added.

Since the strategy remains popular for voters, it has been used as a political gimmick by some candidates, Coronacion added.

"Mabenta yung ganung klaseng . Parte yan ng political gimmicks na ginagamit ng mga kandidato tuwing kampanya, kasama yung mga gimmick na substitution (That kind of strategy works. That has become a part of political gimmicks used by candidates during campaigns, including substitution gimmicks)," he added.