FILIPINOS are used to star-studded election rallies, but the campaign launch at Manila's Cuneta Astrodome on February 10th broke all the records for razzle-dazzle. Amid swirling dry ice and roving spotlights, a famous troupe called The Sex Bomb Dancers gyrated and squirmed; the Philippines' best-known comedian performed a stand-up routine, and assorted movie and television stars rallied the cheering crowd of thousands. The biggest celebrity present was the candidate himself: Fernando Poe Junior, “Da King” of Philippine cinema and the man to beat in the presidential election on May 10th.

Filipinos are also used to voting for film stars, but Mr Poe provokes new heights of enthusiasm. He is far more famous than Joseph Estrada, the matinee idol who won the last presidential election by a landslide. What's more, Mr Estrada, who was unseated by mass demonstrations halfway through his six-year term, has told his resentful supporters to support Mr Poe. No wonder the polls put Mr Poe nine points clear of his closest rival, Gloria Arroyo, the former vice-president who took over from Mr Estrada.

No wonder, too, that Mrs Arroyo is trying to inject a little glamour into her own presidential bid. Like Mr Poe, she has recruited a famous news anchor as her running mate. Two more film stars are running for senator on her party's ticket, as is a basketball champion. She has named the whole slate K-4, a reference to a wildly popular band. Yet these icons only managed to pack a few hundred supporters into the church in the small town of Cavinti where Mrs Arroyo launched her election campaign. The event was as underwhelming and chaotic as her three years in office have been. A huge traffic jam snarled the road to the venue, forcing various dignitaries to abandon their cars and rush onwards on foot. Mrs Arroyo seemed distant and stiff with the crowd of onlookers, several of whom confessed their intention to vote for Mr Poe. Others got bored and drifted off in the middle of the event.

But celebrity appeal is not the only factor in the race. Mr Poe is a high-school drop-out who had worked as an actor and producer all his life until he turned to politics last year. Unlike Mr Estrada, who served as a mayor, senator and vice president, he has never held any elected office. He spoke for only 12 minutes during his three-hour launch rally, and that was his longest speech to date. He has not yet announced any policies, short of platitudes about ending poverty, injustice and corruption. As voters get to know more about his political views—or lack of them—they might yet shy away from him.

The prospect of a President Poe is certainly rattling the markets. Last week, the peso dropped to a record low against the dollar. A survey of members of the Makati Business Club, a lobbying group, did not turn up a single Poe supporter. Many worry about his connections with Mr Estrada, under whom the deficit boomed and corruption thrived.

In any case, Mr Poe might have to drop out of the race altogether. The constitution says that only a “natural born citizen” can become president. Mr Poe's father was Filipino, which would normally entitle him to Philippine citizenship, even though his mother was American. But documents supplied by Mr Poe's own lawyers suggest that he was born before his parents married, and his detractors argue that this made him an American citizen at birth. Having failed to convince the Election Commission, they are now petitioning the Supreme Court to rule on the issue. It's going to be a long, tumultuous campaign.