Podcast: A MARvelous Day for Liberal Party: Roxas withdraws presidential bid in favor of Aquino

Posted by RJ Marmol on Sep 4, 2009 in Elections 2010, Local News, Lyrics, Music, News, Politics |

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This entry is part 12 of 51 in the series The 2010 Presidential Elections

The 2010 Presidential Elections

Roxas Gives Way To Aquino Presidency 2010

WARNING: Long and boring post/podcast ahead. Get yourself a pillow, some popcorn and chips before you read/listen to this. Or better yet just exit this window and spare yourself the torture. You can always come back when you’re ready.

Full text below. For the lazy reader, download/listen to the podcast and bore yourself the same way. :)

Note: Actual podcast may have been slightly altered during recording. Rest assured that it’s no big deal.

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These past few days, I’ve been surprised at what I have become. Knowing how I tend to instantly react to almost anything, for days, I have miraculously managed to read instead of write, to listen instead of speak, to watch instead of show off and well, to think instead of just “absorb”.

My model of brevity, youngest daughter of the late Sec. Blas Ople, the ever-amiable Ms. Toots Ople, President of the Blas Ople Policy Center and Training Institute wrote that we are “living in interesting times”. Indeed we are. The turn of events have been so “life-changing” in a way. It’s as if the heavens itself have conspired to bring us to this moment in our Philippine history where we are once again called upon to “heed the call of the times”. (She has written an article about “how wrong Mar was” back at FilipinoNewsNetwork.com. I suggest you go over there and read it, it’s an interesting take from the perspective of someone who has worked closely with Mar for a long time.)

But as the Pedestrian Observer put forth, it is critical we don’t go all giddy and romantic at this time because we may well be wrong and end up disappointed. Let us not set aside objectivity for drama. Why yes, drama is so tempting a choice, I know. One look at the TV on prime time would tell you how many of us has already given in to that pleasurable temptation.

Such is the case we have been presented with at this historical moment in our socio-political story. Once again, we see people slowly stepping-up to the challenge of a so-called “social revolution” of sorts. Of course, it may be such a sweeping generalization and probably not a sentiment shared by 100% of the population.

The fact remains, however that this opportune time is not something orchestrated by a few influential people — unlike similar revolutions of the past. Here, we have deaths that nature and not man, has dictated. They say deaths are indeed profound events for it heralds the birth of another — in this case, the death of Philippine democracy’s icon President Cory Aquino “is” giving birth to renewed hope, renewed optimism and renewed trust on our most-valued resources — our people. Notice that I write “is giving birth” instead of “has given birth”. Obviously, I wrote that to stress a point.

As of this time, events are unfolding as if it were a grand plan designed for success — like an artistically laid out “SUCCESS AT LAST” domino design. One flick is all it takes, we watch in awe and then, boom! “Success!”. I can already imagine the spectators scratching their heads, mouths agape, mind all twisted, heart frozen, spirit jumping out of their stiff bodies — all of them, screaming with their mouth shut — “That’s it? That easy? Why then did it take this long?”.

Cut to reality.

Wishful thinking, folks. Sorry to burst your bubble.

Drama — we are so absorbed in it that we fail to see past what is under our noses. Do you get that? I don’t either. Point is, here we are again, back to where we were years ago, at this crossroad, only that, the circumstances are no longer the same. The options available are no longer the same. The political climate. The economic climate. The social climate. Heck, even the literal “climate” is different.

Hence, it begs two questions: Do we decide now based on how we decided years back? Do we bank on history to salvage what is left of our present and what we hope for in our future? Maybe we should ask ourselves that.

Proof that we are fueled by drama: Days before, the web was abuzz with news about the possibility of a Aquino-Roxas tandem. September 1, the moment news broke out about an “important” announcement of Sen. Mar Roxas, everyone (myself included) was agog at Twitter and Facebook and was frantically texting everyone in their phone book that an “important” announcement was to be made in that small Gabaldon room of Club Filipino. It was the hottest intrigue of the day, I even postponed going out in the afternoon to pay bills. Who wouldn’t want to miss that, right? What’s he gonna say? Will it be Roxas-Aquino? Aquino-Roxas? Will he withdraw completely? When the news finally came out, there I was teary-eyed and broken-hearted. Mar Roxas, that presidential aspirant I never liked in the first place, took my heart for a full hour or more. He suddenly became my “man of the moment” — the self-sacrificing hero of 2010. Lost in this drama, it was as if I was ready to bleed for him. Such a statesman. Praise here. Praise there. Praise Mar.

(Manolo Quezon writes a compelling article about Mar Roxas post-withdrawal – Statesman.)

But then, after the emotions waned, I asked, where did my 30mins. go? Of course, the objectivity returned. The rationality came back. And then I thought, well, isn’t that the most logical and safest thing for Mar Roxas to do anyway? Given that he hasn’t really gained as much popularity in the surveys as he hoped for? By doing this, rallying behind Noynoy Aquino, backing somebody already backed-up by the people’s clamor for a “messiah”, Roxas redeems himself and poises himself anew as a “reformist” candidate, making us all nostalgic, back to the times when “Mr. Palengke” swept us all of our feet and when DTI and Mar was synonymous with public service and results. By withdrawing his bid for presidency and reinforcing his reason for doing so by saying he is doing this for our country, Mar manages to salvage whatever it is that’s left of his reputation. Now, is it all a strategy? Is it really too early for him to do this, hence raising doubts of a double “change of heart”? No one knows for sure.

I don’t intend to downplay the “sacrifice”. Mar Roxas is as human as humans get. He has dreams and we are all silent, probably uninterested witnesses to that dream. But anyone who has ever dreamed in his/her life knows how devastating it is to sacrifice “your dream” for “someone else’s”. It tears your soul apart and sometimes, there’s no mending it.

Here was a man, ridiculed for his “Ramdam ko kayo. Lalaban tayo!” line and his seemingly oh-so-pretentious “padyak” TV ads, who have already spent millions for his bid, announcing in public that he is withdrawing his presidential ambitions in favor of Noynoy’s. Kumbaga sa movies, what a completely unexpected twist!!! You didn’t see it coming, did you? Huh? :) I know I didn’t.

Let’s go back to that point I want to stress about deaths “giving birth” to renewed optimism. The verb is in the present tense because in this country, politics is as good as “now” — this moment, this time — the present. We see mass “actions” everywhere now, and these are actions not necessarily taken to the streets but within the walls of small offices, houses, institutions, organizations and the like. It is a silent action to pursue unity and coalition — an action that they hope will ultimately lead to a “united opposition” where only one candidate, supported by all other political parties and independent groups will run against the “anointed” of the Palace — against the “power of the incumbent” and the power of what pundits call a “well-oiled political machinery”. LAKAS-KAMPI-CMD is not to be underestimated. It is highly probable that their candidate’s win will be a walk in the park under a multi-candidate/multi-party race. The Palace says, “the more, the merrier”. Of course, that’s what they hope for. They know their Math. And if there was anything laudable (if you can even call it that) about the Palace, it’s their being “consistent” all the way. They are “in it to win it” says the party spokesperson, and I believe that to be true.

So this “rebirth”, knowing how short-sighted we Filipinos have become, and how short our attenti0n span is, will probably not last that long. There is a small window of opportunity here that needs to be seized. Otherwise, all concerted efforts will be lost to oblivion, maybe in just a matter of months if not weeks. Then we’ll all go back to our old selves, cursing and whining like a sore loser. I hope I am wrong.

What difference then does this decision of Mar Roxas make in light of the 2010 elections, you ask?

Well, frankly not much. To my mind, we can all just dream of salvation. Dream of progress. Dream of a good government. In the same way that we didn’t get to this pitiful situation overnight, one man’s “sacrifice” or another’s “courage” won’t make much of a difference overnight. But hell, it’s not so bad to dream. So let’s.

What will save us all? A sweeping social revolution will. Is that possible? Well, “in your dreams, pare!”. Dream with me while we sing this song… I say, “Wake up everybody!”. Because unless we all wake up, roll up our sleeves and “work it”, we could all say goodbye to this “lost chance”. And all these sacrifices – Mar’s, Ninoy’s or anyone else’s — would all be in vain.

It is time to work.

But of course, why would we? Drama is oh-so-tempting and yes, a lot more gratifying. :)

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Wake Up Everybody ( by: Harold Melvin and The Blue Notes)

Wake up everybody no more sleeping in bed
No more backward thinkin’ time for thinkin’ ahead
The world has changed so very much
From what it used to be so
there is so much hatred war and poverty
Wake up all the teachers time to teach a new way
Maybe then they’ll listen to what you have to say
Cause they’re the ones who’s coming up and the world is in their hands
when you teach the children teach them the best you can.

Chorus
The world won’t get no better if we just let it be
The world won’t get no better we gotta change it yeah, just you and me.

Wake up all the doctors make the ol’ people well
They’re the ones who suffer an’ who catch all the hell
But they don’t have so very long before the Judgement Day
So won’tcha make them happy before they pass away.
Wake up all the builders time to build a new land
I know we can do it if we all lend a hand
The only thing we have to do is put it in our mind
Surely things will work out they do it every time.

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1 Comment

Manuel

Sep 4, 2009 at 4:45 PM

Mar "sacrificed" for Noynoy "Mama's Boy" Aquino? Or Mar realized he could not win the presidency even if he spends the entire fortune of the Aranetas and the Roxases. You're really out-of-sync with reality. Don't you know that 1 hour before the Hacienda Luisita massacre, Noynoy Aquino talked to the chief of police of Tarlac City- then the carnage. Cory Aquino? She brought back democracy? How old are you girl? Stop writing and start reading. You're so INTELLECTUALLY DISHONEST!!!