MANILA, May 4, 2010 (AFP) - A popular Internet video shows bespectacled Liberal Party (LP) presidential frontrunner Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino looking stiff and uncomfortable as he raps an anti-corruption jingle in a bland monotonous tone.

Another video shows a rival, Richard "Dick" Gordon, with two comedians as they lip-synch "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" -- a chart-topping song from the 1960s.

In colourful asides to the tense and occasionally violent campaigning for next week's elections, presidential candidates are tirelessly performing for television, radio, and the Internet to woo the country's 50 million voters.

They sing and dance on stage or appear as guests on television game shows, much to the amusement and annoyance of the public in one of Asia's most free-wheeling democracies.

"It's par for the course, they need to do everything they can to get noticed and get the votes," said Gary Mariano, a communications expert at Manila's De La Salle University.

Mariano said a politician's willingness to poke fun at himself, or risk embarrassment by belting out an off-key tune and dancing ungracefully, makes it easier for the public to identify with him.

While it may not necessarily translate into real votes, at least it boosts awareness and name recall, key ingredients for someone who wants to be remembered on election day, he said.

"This is a way of trying to reach the masses, to tell them that they are not really among the elite or the intellectuals but are one of them," Mariano told AFP.

In Aquino's 58-second video, the 50-year-old candidate is shown ramming a sledgehammer into a digital rendering of the word "corruption" while flanked by supporters.

He then raps out a few lines promising to serve the public and urging Filipinos to be proud of their heritage.

The video appears to be a move to change the public's perception of the chain-smoking Aquino, who is often described as an uncharismatic and shabbily dressed bachelor.

Reactions to the Aquino ad have been varied, with some praising him for being real and others simply calling it weird.

"Such a loser," commented one viewer, called zairgotschi001, on the video-sharing site YouTube.

Gordon's stunt, meanwhile, has gone viral, with more than 200,000 hits since its debut on YouTube. Mainstream television has also picked it up.

"Good job on the video. I hope he wins. New fan here," said atamopokapoka, an overseas-based Filipino worker who saw the Gordon clip online.

It has, however, not helped Gordon's ratings -- he remains in the bottom half in surveys, and on one recent campaign trip he threw a tantrum after no members of the local press showed up to cover his arrival.

Other presidential candidates, such as multi-millionaire property developer Manny Villar, bring in the crowds by transforming campaign speeches into colourful shows attended by big-name movie and television stars.

Villar has also employed a gaggle of scantily clad women to gyrate on stage at his rallies, a common campaign strategy in Philippine politics.

And on one popular noon-time television variety show, Villar gave away free houses and plots to poor contestants.

Former movie action star Joseph Estrada, who is seeking to regain the presidency after being deposed in a 2001 popular uprising, seeks to capitalise on his own star power.

He occasionally belts out a love song at campaign rallies in urban slums whose people still love him for his movie characters who stood up for the poor.

"I still do that from time to time," Estrada, 73, told AFP with a smile when asked about his singing. "But my voice gets hoarse."