Mar Roxas, when interviewed by Pinky Webb of CNN Philippines “The Source” asked him: Is it needed you lose in the 2016 election?
“I don’t know if it’s needed or not. I took it as they come. Those are the cards that dealt you. I am human. It’s painful. I am not aware which one people rejected. Is it my person? My platform? Or is it the Program I espoused?” Mar said.
None of those rejections Mar mentioned caused his loss. The confluence of events did it.
Mar Roxas’ stunt directing traffic downgraded his technocrat image. To endear himself to the masses, he dislodges his upper-crust bearing. It boomeranged. He became a joke.
An army of trolls proliferated in social media. Fake news unabated. These dictated the onslaught of public opinion against the party to which Mar belongs. Then, the sprouts of “Tanim Bala” at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport. Everyday disrupted services of the MRT occurs. Hellish traffic woes endured by the daily commuters. The Mamasapano debacle resulting in the death of the SAF soldiers. These events fueled by the diatribes of the social media trolls conditioned the voter’s mindset.
The Filipino voters in their desperate hope to find the Moses who could give them the promise land aimed for The Avant-Garde leader. Joseph Estrada, the movie actor fits the bill. They voted Joseph Estrada. They opined: Well, we tried lawyers, statesmen. We got nothing. That voter’s decision swelled Philippines Politics with misfits movie actors and celebrities.
Then, came Rodrigo Roa Duterte, another The Avant-Garde leader. He said he will destroy the drug menace in 3 months. Making appearances the “tradpols” disdain to do in public, Duterte did it with gusto. He cursed, yet, people mesmerized of its humor and magic. They did wonders. Aided by the internet trolls, he won by 16 million votes as President of the Philippines.
This series of events, Roxas suffered and defeated.
As the social media contributed to Roxas’ defeat, he harnessed its potential for him to be with people. During his hiatus, after spending quality times to his family, he indulged himself traveling around the country, documenting the places he visited, and his interaction with the locals, and post his insights, and experiences to the social media. Many followed his post on Facebook and Instagram. And he encourages to post for more. He seized the people’s pulse. Not by way of directing traffic.
Pinky Webb, asked him: What made him run again?
Mar Roxas said, “To fulfill his sense of duty leading the nation to modernity.”
Jess Fernando 