presidential elections - Cerebral Insights

Oras Na! Roxas Na!

Since he became Mr. Palengke up until he stepped down to be PNoy’s running mate instead of LP’s Presidential Standard Bearer, I have supported Mar Roxas. To me, he is the logical choice to run the country. He came from a decent political family where all his relatives have served the country well without a hint of doubt to their integrity. He has worked diligently under the administrations who assigned him government posts and he has delivered what he’s supposed to do.

I know he is not perfect. There are times when he bungled up. Every time his PR team would come up with some cheesy campaign that will make him a laughing stock in social media I will cringe internally. I agree with them that the gimmicks are cheap but I disagree with the purported notion that Mar is not a viable choice for leadership.

When he was running for President during the 2010 Presidential Race, I was all out to support him. But when LP decided suddenly to switch to PNoy as their standard bearer, my heart went out to Mar when he decided to step down. I cannot forget what he said that day:

“Ito na ang pinakamabigat na desisyon sa buhay ko. Maniwala man kayo o hindi, ginagawa ko ito para sa bayan, para sa inyo. I do this for unity in support of change. And if that means that somebody must make the sacrifice, it must be me. Ako na,”

Mar Roxas, Aug. 1, 2009, Club Filipino

Now, we come full circle. After 6 successful years where Noynoy Aquino has successfully started the fight against corruption and began the positive change in our country, he is now announcing his successor. And this time, it is Mar.

Whereas in 2010, Mar began campaigning early, this 2016 he announced his Presidential ambitions last. He worked patiently, diligently and quietly with every responsibility assigned to him. Most of them even put him into bad light with the public who cannot comprehend how hard a position he holds. But he moved on, never once complaining.

This article summarizes beautifully why Mar Roxas is a game-changer; why he is the most rational choice for President after PNoy.

Grace Poe is a nice candidate. She’s a breath of fresh air since she’s not from a traditional political family. However, her experiences and capability to run the country is something debatable. Presidency is not just any ordinary position as I can see now. It involves a lot of other factors and winning it is certainly not as simple as it may seem.

Duterte is a popular choice because of his notorious reforms in Davao City but running a local unit is different from running a national unit. Besides, it would take more than social media to win the elections.

Who else? I totally agree with anyone who says Binay should not be President. Anyone who acts the way he does is someone who doesn’t deserve our vote. His pre-campaigns and his recent antics clearly smells of someone who is up to no good once he assumes office. Someone who tries really hard to secure his victory – to the extent of even leaving his Cabinet pose – is someone I will never trust in a million lifetimes.

Mar Roxas is the logical and most viable option we have. I hope Filipinos will start thinking rationally and strategically. Other candidates may be good but they need to have political allies, enough connections here and abroad, enough resources, and enough experience to be able to implement the changes that our country needs.

Roxas may have had his blunders but at the end of the day, he’s still the best option we got.

I am not ashamed to campaign for him for I believe in what he can do. And I believe we have no better alternative.

With Mar Roxas. Taken circa 2009 during the launch of GRF 50th Anniversary.

Mar Roxas: The Long Road to Endorsement by Rappler

Mar Roxas posts in this blog – because I’ve discovered that I’ve consistently written about him

Rooting for Noynoy

“Can Noynoy do it? Believe it. Yes he can” –Conrado De Quiros

Up until today I was somehow undecided whether I will vote for Noynoy or not. I knew Mar Roxas endorsed him, and I believe in Mar’s decisions and principles, yet I was somehow skeptical of Noynoy. I agreed with the critics notions that he is still unprepared and incapable of the presidency and he is merely riding on to his parent’s fame and the recent surge of the Cory magic. I agreed with the critics that he lacks experience as evidenced by his mediocre performance as congressman and as senator. I agreed with critics that shrewd advisers will take advantage of him and he may end up another Erap – dependent on his advisers’ greedy and self-serving advices. I agreed with them, now I disagree.

After reading several, I admit not quite a lot, people’s opinions on Noynoy’s bid for presidency; I must say that I have already decided which side I’m on. Before I was on the gray side, but I knew there’s only black and white in this race we’re in. There are only 2 sides of the coin – there’s nothing in between. Times are different now, I can feel that and as responsible voters and citizens of the country longing for change, we need to make a clear-cut stand on the matters and issues at hand. I have decided to take my stand.

I will vote for Noynoy and support him in the upcoming presidential race. I agree with a lot of points in De Quiros’ recent article about Noynoy, Yes, he can. Indeed what our country needs is not a leader that will act like a CEO of a company – serving only the needs of the stockbrokers and not of its employees; having a lot of skills and impressive accomplishments but questionable in integrity and moral standing. What our country needs is someone we can be confident of to rally behind to – a president we can support instead of rebut; a president we would be comfortable to trust with our resources and not fear that he or she would take it to his or her personal advantage. I agree that what the country needs is someone who can clean up the mess that has been accumulated over the past years – the mess that has made us apathetic and disillusioned about the country that we now live in. I agree that the elections this coming 2010 is not a regular and peaceful one. First there is the new automated system which I believe will raise a lot of complications since I don’t think it has been prepared adequately. Second, unlike other Presidential election periods, this election does not entirely guarantee a peaceful transition – not with talks of GMA wanting cha-cha and possibly not relinquishing her power in a docile and quiet manner. And with Erap seeking a re-election, what can we really expect?

Continue reading “Rooting for Noynoy”

Choosing Country Over Self

Mar Roxas

Today, I admired Mar Roxas even more. When I first heard him speak during the Gerry Roxas Foundation 50th anniversary launching, I was already awed by the eloquence of how he delivered his speech. Furthermore I was awed by the sincerity oozing out from the person. I at once knew that he was a man of integrity.

After the event, and after having my photo taken with him – of which he was most kind to oblige to – I resolved to be more attuned to the current state of the country. Thus began my after lunch ritual of going to CRL (Church of the Risen Lord)’s office to have a cup of coffee while perusing the day’s headlines.

I can say that at that time I was updated with all the latest happenings in the country. And I owe that to the awareness created by Mar Roxas when I heard him give that privilege speech. Of course I did not only tuned myself to the country, I also tuned myself to the man. I researched about him and subscribed to his blogs (Twitter wasn’t yet invented that time or it was still relatively new, else I would have joined Twitter because of him).

Yet after he announced officially his intent to run for President in 2010, and when he started his infomercials, not to mention publicize his engagement to Korina, I began doubting his sincerity. Perhaps he was just like the rest – putting up shows for people to watch and know him. After all, he was inconsistent with the image he projects to the country and admittedly, the engagement announcements were tasteless.

At this point, disappointment crept in and I began to see the glare of the negative blogs about him. I stopped altogether caring about the person. Yet I knew deep down that I will still vote for him for President.

Now, he has withdrawn his candidacy. He has chosen country over self. And for that I admire him even more. His critics may argue that he was already losing, that his campaign was going to the drain and to withdraw is simply his attempt to redeem his plunking reputation but I beg to disagree. Yes, given the fact that his campaign was going nowhere and his ratings were dropping, to admit defeat is a manly and very courageous thing to do. Furthermore, to support someone who he believes will win (for whatever reasons, I can only speculate), is something that I believe took lots of guts and courage for him to do.

Considering that he has been very vocal about running for President, considering that he had received a lot of criticisms over his infomercials, considering that even his fiance has been accussed of simply wanting to be First Lady so she will marry Mar, I think it was really brave of the senator to step down and claim defeat.

He has set aside his personal ambition, his personal dream to serve the country in the highest position possible, to consider the country’s welfare. That for me is true public service. That for me is using your brains to see the nation prosper. That for me is sincerity at its best. Sincerity amidst a see of hypocrisy.

How I wish the other politicians will take heed. Don’t they see that the people are already becoming confused with the huge number of candidates we are asked to chose from? Can’t they unite under one banner – the banner of what they are fighting for. Mar recognized that he was on the same boat as Noynoy. If it was Noynoy who had more chances of winning, he was prepared to join Noynoy’s boat and fight the same cause. He wasn’t afraid to look stupid because he went against the norm of politics.

In our political system, it is so easy to break off and create another party if one is not chosen as standard bearer of his respective party even if the causes and reforms are all the same. No wonder, our country has a lot of candidates, under different party names, but basically fighting for the same causes. No wonder Erap is seriously considering running if the Opposition will not come up with one solid candidate. In fairness to Erap, I like how he thinks this time.

We still have time. It is but 8 months away till elections. I wish that the politicians will use that time to decide once and for all who they are serving – themselves or the country.

politics 101

With the upcoming 2010 elections, some questions sprang to mind. This is after all my first Presidential elections, my first time to vote in the national elections. And since I care deeply about how the country ultimately turns out, I want to make my vote count.

And so I ask, who should I vote for?

There are several who have already cited their unwavering intent for the post and who have in fact made some attempt at infomercials. Still I remain undecided as to who to vote for. Even the one I said I will support – Mar Roxas – still doesn’t seem right. To me, he appears to still be lacking something.

Then again, a nagging question comes to mind. With all these presidential hopefuls, the country’s vote will no doubt be divided amongst all of them. What if some presidential hopeful, who I believe is really wrong for the position, suddenly garnered majority of the votes? Then the runner-up is also someone who I am not convinced of but is a more probable president than the currently winning candidate, will I then pull out my vote from the person who I believe can lead the country but appears hopeless to win to support the lesser evil runner up? Should I then practice strategic voting?

Politics. A much better topic for the mind to engage on than the hapless questions of love and what should be not. 😀