ONE MONTH to go before Election Day and volunteers are still winning the war against money and traditional politics. The latest surveys by the most reputable pollsters all point to two trends - Noynoy holding firm and slowly improving to 37-40% and Villar steadily weakening from 35% to 25%. There are still four weeks but trends do not develop or break quickly.

It is unfortunate that the campaign has been marked by ugly attempts to mislead voters. Perhaps, partisanship naturally clouds objectivity and ends up blinding those who never had a consistent capacity for objectivity. Following almost fanatical attitudes that smeared the Obama-McCain presidential contest, Filipinos are being exposed to similar wild claims and wild rantings. In our political context, however, it is not just partisanship that causes dirty tricks but guns-for-hire as well.

The reason why corruption remains the core issue of the Noynoy camp is because corruption is what aggravates them the most. That is why 37-40% of Filipino voters have stayed firm with Noynoy from September of last year. Those who spontaneously went for Noynoy but wanted to see or hear more than integrity and honest governance have shifted elsewhere. Many are expected to return as reality sets in stronger towards election day.

The drama, though, is the classic battle between conviction and money. It is conviction, a deep belief in a cause or someone representing a cause, that fires a volunteerism which started seven months ago and shows signs of intensifying in these next few weeks. Those who track election expenses by monitoring tri-media advertising say that no election in Philippine history has been this expensive. Yet, against that massive expense which many say has reached vulgar levels, rises a counterforce to crass commercialism. Ordinary Filipinos are spending, contributing, campaigning, moderating caucuses, printing their own posters, designing their promo materials and fundraising small amounts from their communities.

Most of the volunteers are for Noynoy, plain and simple. There are others for the different candidates, of course, but insignificant compared to what Noynoy has. The Yellow forces are what carry the campaign, not the Liberal Party. In fact, despite a great expansion based on the popularity of Noynoy, there remain huge chunks of the country without either Liberal Party presence or influence. In the same manner, it is not the Nacionalista Party that carries Manny Villar but the other way around. The same is true with the administration party that is carried by Gloria Arroyo, and the Gibo campaign as well.

Reality is that there is no party vision, no party platform, only party intramurals. Noynoy's strength is the direct support of the people. His weakness will be any group which will influence him to resist change. Noynoy as a symbol of change will be threatened from both political rivals and political allies who operate from the same mindset. After all, whether it is Lakas-Kampi or the Nacionalista Party or the Liberal Party, none had shone any clear and consistent leaning for change or reform. Before the advent of Noynoy in the realm of serious possibility in August of 2010, the Padyak advertisement of Mar Roxas did not appear in any way as a message for change.

Without the volunteers, Noynoy has no chance of winning, At the same time, with only volunteers, neither Villar or Gibo or Estrada have no chance of winning either. That is the great difference in this campaign, that volunteers are the crucial ingredient for victory for Noynoy and that they are not for any rival with a chance to win. This scenario is a reminder of another presidential contest which pitted a housewife against a dictator, of volunteers versus money and power. Admitted cheating by cheaters robbed victory from volunteers with the use of money and power, but the housewife and volunteers took by revolution what an election refused them.

To those who are part of the volunteer force of Noynoy, the possibility of cheating is beyond discussion and already an assumption. As in the contest between the passion of conviction versus the power of money and authority twenty-five years ago, volunteers for Noynoy are preparing themselves for massive and vulgar cheating ? and to react collectively and immediately against it. Volunteer groups have been encouraged to choose which street or location in their respective towns and cities will represent Edsa in the advent of a national celebration or a people power revolution.

Military authorities close to the administration have been heard to say that they are prepared for protest action by frustrated voters. Of course, with history behind them, they would be stupid not to take preparations. At the same time, those who are ready to take to the streets should they believe they have been cheated would be stupid not to anticipate that military authorities will try to disperse them quickly. Both sides, those who are determined to protest in case of orchestrated and massive cheating and those who are preparing to neutralize these protests, will try their respective best to achieve their goals. Will history repeat itself? Will enough elements in the military exert their independence from their chain of command should their superiors support illegal and immoral orders?

Whatever happens, the near future promises to be another historical highlight. Many trials will define this campaign and election. The most unpopular and unwanted president in history, accused of grand election theft with her Hello Garci controversy, the greatest spending businessman, former Speaker, former Senate President and still a serving senator, a come-backing convicted and pardoned deposed president, and the son of the most beloved president in Philippine history all take to a common arena like gladiators of old.

But the real battle is between the spirit that drive volunteers versus the power of money and position. This campaign and election will redefine Philippine politics if the former triumphs, or drag it down notches lower should the latter win. Whichever way, however, Philippine history will have found another drama, another special moment which even the younger generations will remember.