Mar Roxas: Betrayed and Abandoned

With Senator Mar Roxas's withdrawal from the presidential race, Ilonggos again lost a chance to put one of their own kasimanwa in Malacanang. I already heard rumors about Mar's impending withdrawal a couple of days ago but I refused to believe it, dismissing it as just another black propaganda designed to erode his candidacy. After all, coffeeshop talk has it that Roxas has already spent around P250 million and it's illogical for him to quit at this point especially so after investing so much time and money to promote his candidacy. As the wise Filipino saying goes: "kung nabasa ka na, maligo ka na lang." Even though he has been lagging in the presidential surveys recently, Mar is still within striking distance and is still considered by many as a serious contender primarily because of his solid track record and untarnished image. Many Filipinos see him as the only real alternative towards a clean and competent government.

Still, Senator Roxas's withdrawal caught everyone by surprise. I can see very well Mar's dilemma and this might have contributed to his decision to withdraw from the race. Betrayed and abandoned by his partymates, Mar had no choice but to withdraw. Because what do you do when the people you trust can no longer be trusted? What can you do when the people who are supposed to campaign for you can no longer be counted upon to campaign for you? Rather than slugging it out and asking his partymates to choose between him and Noynoy, Mar chose the most statesmanlike path. If Roxas insisted on pursuing his presidential ambitions, the Liberal Party most likely will again be rent in two. And Mar knew that he would most likely be abandoned by the same persons he considered his friends and political allies if the choice boiled down to Noynoy and him. This is because most of the current LP stalwarts got their "big break" during the Aquino administration. Frank Drilon, for example, was a young lawyer in ACCRA Law Office when Cory Aquino plucked him out of anonymity to be her Labor, Justice and eventually Executive Secretary. The same is true for most of the other LP stalwarts.

I feel very bad about Mar's withdrawal because I see him not only as the most qualified but more importantly the "cleanest" among the present crop of presidentiables. You don't have to be an Ilonggo to see that Roxas has the best track record, integrity and the proven capability to lead this country out of the rut. Not only that, he alone has the financial wherewithal to match Villar's war chest. Sure he has languished in the surveys but it is still months til the elections and so much can still be done to address that. I feel bad not so much for Mar (after all, he can still run for president in 2016) but for his mother Judy Roxas who might not be around anymore when he finally runs for president. During the early 1970s, her husband Senator Gerry Roxas was also a leading contender for Malacanang until Marcos unexpectedly pulled the rug from under him by declaring Martial Law. So, with his son's withdrawal, this will be Inday Judy's second time to face such disappointing setback.

The tragedy of it all is that the LP is substituting a "weak" candidate with a more "weaker" one. The so-called "Noynoy phenomenon" is primarily a media creation, an illusion which at this point has no basis in reality. As of now, there is no survey showing that Noynoy is ahead of the pack, no big businessman offering to fund his campaign, no political kingpin hitching their star on him. All they have was the massive crowd turn-out during Cory's burial - which may or may not be converted into actual votes for Noynoy.

The mistake of LP members is that instead of closing ranks behind Mar, they wanted to "try out" Noynoy this late in the game. All I can say to Mar Roxas is - with friends like that, you don't need enemies.....