Mar Roxas makes a lot of sense.
Yes, the guy was born rich. Old money. His family was and must still be one of the richest in the country. I’m sure there will be no money problems for this guy any time soon. And yes, the guy went to the best schools here and abroad. He must have grown up with friends moneyed as he is. Parties, girls, cars, and travel must have been a regular thing for him while growing up. And what about Political Influence, does the guy have it? Well just look at his impressive political lineage. The guy’s Grandfather was the first President of the Republic and his father and brother were both distinguished Congressmen from Capiz.
Fast forward to today and you see photos of the guy repairing a chair, falling off a motorcycle in the middle of a muddy mountain road, talking with tinderos and tinderas in the palengke, assessing the damages of war and natural disasters. People say that it’s all propaganda to make him look more “masa”. Photos that will somehow make this rich dude look a little like most of us common folk.
Now, I asked myself, what if he did all that because he wanted to help? Even if some of the time, he makes a fool of himself doing it.
Honestly, the guy doesn’t look like he can handle a hammer, or ride a motorcycle through muddy road. And I read somewhere that the guy didn’t go to any palengke (the guy’s rich, he has people to do that) only until when it became his job to go there. And what does he know about damage assessment? But if you look at the big picture, you’ll know that he was trying to repair the chair and make it useful again so that a kid can use it in school. He fell off the motorcycle trying to reach more people hit by Typhoon Ruby when the only way to reach them then was through the muddy mountain roads. He was talking with the vendors because he wanted to know and understand how the palengke can be developed because, as a businessman at heart, he believed in the SME sector as drivers of the economy. Damage assessment? He did that, too. You don’t need to be a veteran politiko, or a war tested General to see that people need shelter, food, and protection. The guy saw just that and acted on it.
And if you think about it, that was all he’s been doing the whole time he was working for the government. He was there to help.
He was also on ground zero when Yolanda hit Tacloban, during the recent Zamboanga and the Mamasapano seige. He bridged the local and national government and resolve the problems at hand.
The guy was there to help.
Integrity. The guy served 3 Presidents, as DTI, DOE and DILG Secretary, and there was never a time that he was accused of pocketing some change for himself in spite of being the head of these agencies where gravy can flow rather easily. “Dapat lang kasi mayaman na siya!” some would say, but I’d like for you to think about that and the other dati-ng-mayaman politikos who are facing graft and corruption charges right this minute.
Wait, there’s more! The guy left his post as DTI Secretary during the EDSA Revolution 2001 as Erap was under fire for alleged corruption in his government. He also made “mura” the Arroyo government during a rally in Makati, castigating her move to amend the Constitution (Cha-Cha) and extend her term as President. He didn’t call her out using coño English or tusok-tusok the fishball English. He made mura in Tagalog. Yah! It was so lutong as chicharon! Now that’s talking with your heart out your sleeve. Yah.
So he’s running for President in 2016. So what’s he bringing to the table? The guy’s going to continue with the Daang Matuwid ideology. Not a bad idea if you ask me. It’s seriously something new to politics these days. We’ve been so used to seeing ongoing government projects put in the back-burners every time there’s a change in the administration in the LGUs and government agencies because the new guy wants his own projects. You’ll see the markings on the sidewalks change, the logos on lamp posts change, city “Welcome” markers get torn down and replaced with new ones with their logos in place and even Senior Citizen medical cards change.
The guys’s not seeking to put his mark on anything. He just wants to help.
The guy’s offering continuity. He intends to finish what he and his boss started during his term. And it’s all under the Daang Matuwid banner. No names. No affiliations. But we must remember that this Daang Matuwid ideology is not bulletproof. Like any regular daan or road, it has its share of potholes, cracks, collapsed and unpaved muddy sections. We need to work together because the guy can’t do it alone. And it’s true to the last letter. We can’t let the guy do all the work and just enjoy the fruits of his labor. We can’t call him out kung manunuod lang tayo. We need to work together.
Personally, the last SONA showed me that the Daang Matuwid ideology worked. That same SONA also showed me that the guy pretty much was a part of the reason why it worked.
Mar Roxas made himself look silly fixing a chair. Even more when he fell off that bike wearing a bright yellow jacket to boot. The rich kid from Capiz was always one of the first responders to a natural disaster, and in times of war in spite having a team of Under Secretaries, Associate Secretaries, and maybe a hundred more people who can do the job for him. He will call a spade a spade (at may mura pa, just to drive home the point). He’s made some bad calls in the past and he’s still reeling from it until now. But after all that, no one’s questioned his integrity. And I’m always impressed by anybody who stands firm on what he thinks will work for the country, especially when it really does work.
So to me, Mar Roxas makes a lot of sense.
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