How CIA pop music helped elect the president of the Philippines - a podcast by The National UAE

Filipinos will go to the polls in May to elect a new president, marking the end of Rodrigo Duterte’s years in power. Presidential hopefuls will be using what Filipinos call political campaign jingles to attract voters, a tradition that has been going since 1953. 

But did this ritual begin because of the secret pop aspirations of a CIA officer? The National has seen remarkable evidence that supports this suggestion. 

On this week's Beyond the Headlines host Robert Tollast looks at the strange story of the CIA and political campaign pop songs in the Philippines.

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