Why Mar Roxas?

First off, let me just tell you that I am not a registered voter.  I have not registered, and no matter what I do or say here right now, I will not be able to put it into action this upcoming election.  I will not try to save face and blame it on some external factor, or the lack of time, or even the unbelievable long lines for NCR district 2.  I was lazy and not responsible enough to go through the procedure and I regret it.  So yes, I am part of the problem.  I am part of the road blocks preventing the nation to fully develop.  And I regret it.

So why am I writing this despite my obvious lack of credibility? Because I am a writer. And this is what we do.  We write. We write the things we think are worth writing down.  So this is not some attempt to glorify my candidate of choice; or to encourage other people to vote for him.  This is merely me exercising my skills as a writer.

Lastly, before I begin, let me just clear out that I am in no mood to argue/debate on the things that I have written down here.  These are my opinions, and I believe there is no need for me to justify or defend them.  Whatever is written here is the result of my research, experience and personal analysis.  So if you are not matured enough to understand that, why don’t you click on the address bar and go back to google and search for articles that glorifies your candidate?

Ok. Now that we have all that behind us, let me just reiterate that I would probably be voting for Mar Roxas had I registered to vote.  This is a very unpopular opinion nowadays because people are so inclined to choosing Duterte or Grace Poe.  So why Mar Roxas? To be honest, I consider it very difficult to explain why.  One, because Mar has become a walking meme. And two: because Mar is so f*cking honest he always ends up pissing off the Filipino people.  You may be raising an eye brow now after reading that I consider Mar to be honest.  As a matter of fact, I think he is the most honest (if such a comparison even exists) among all the candidates.  Just imagine, Mar Roxas told the press on national television that people who do not believe that the Philippine economy is developing are either hypocrites or lazy (because they are probably not working).  On another occasion, he was asked to comment about a netizen’s remark stating: “If the economy is really growing, then why are beggars still begging?” How did Mar Roxas respond on national television?  “A growing economy can only be felt by people who are working, not by people who beg.”

Those type of answers are the ones that are true but hurt nonetheless.  You see, we as a nation don’t like that kind of response.  What we want is everything handed to us in a silver platter.  That is why you have unemployed friends whose first response to a job offer is: “Baka naman mabigat trabaho dyan ah.”  We don’t want to admit that the road to progress is difficult; and we as the people of this country will have to do majority of the leg work.  That is why we’d rather favor politicians who says: “I will get rid of crime and corruption in 3-6 months.” (Emphasis on “I”).  Rather than the other one who says “We” or “You”.  This is the type of mentality that sent us spiraling down the drain several decades ago.  We ask for so much, yet we are so unwilling to give ourselves.  Let me ask you, when was the last time you donated an hour of your salary to charity?  When was the last time you offered your services/expertise to a weekend workshop in your barangay?  When was the last time you signed up for a cleaning drive, or feeding program for the poor?  Was it last week? If so, then good! I salute you! But I’m betting that is not the case for the majority of us. Hey, even I can’t remember the last time I did something for my country.  Oh and don’t get me started with paying taxes. You don’t pay taxes so you can demand from the government in return.  You pay taxes because there is a Government.  You pay your due because the government has setup basic human rights that prevents local warlords from binding you to a chain and turning you into a slave while you sleep.  You pay your taxes because you can strike off the possibility of a foreign country dropping another Fat Man on top of our heads while we sleep.  You pay your taxes because the law allows personal belongings in our society.  The country doesn’t owe us for paying our taxes.  We pay taxes because we owe the country! 

So going back… was Mar Roxas’ response correct? Of course it was! Was it appealing to the masses? Definitely no! That is why majority of the non-working/partly-working people would rather go to Binay.  Because Binay promises a comfortable future even without the people doing anything.  But we all know that that is a big fat lie.

So why do I really like Mar Roxas? Let me look back at 1999.  Mar was then just a congressman and I was just 12 years old.  He, together with Ralph Recto authored and passed RA 8756 in the congress, otherwise known as the RHQ and ROHQ law of the Philippines.  That law provided tax incentives to multi-national companies conducting their operations, manufacturing, administration, recruitment, and training within Philippine soil.  This was an improved version of PEZA which placed the Philippines on the map for foreign investors.  I mean, PEZA had the same objective, but it was not competitive enough to persuade multi-national companies from turning their backs on India or China.  RA 8756 however, turned all of that around.  I am not saying that all the businesses solely signed up due to this law, but laws like these are big factors in choosing the ideal country to invest in.  But it wasn’t really the law that led me to admire the man who co-wrote it.  It was the ability to see so far into the future.  Just imagine, 1999 was a time when majority didn’t have computers or mobile phones.  Heck, I remember being introduced to Compact discs during that year.  And yet, here is this guy, sitting in his secret corner, doing some unfathomable math to figure out what our country needs to become stronger for the next 15 years.  Why would I not vote for such a guy?

I know that we are all entitled to our own choice.  But let me just scrutinize that for a moment here.  I honestly think that majority of the Filipino people (including myself) are not intellectually ready to vote.  I mean, yes, they are of legal age and in their right mind.  But this is the presidency we are talking about.  The person who will represent us to the rest of the world.  The person who has the capability to turn down future laws agreed upon by the very same people the masses have elected to represent their voice.  This is the one person who has the capability to take away our Civil liberties.  The election affects everyone, not just those who voted for one candidate or another.  If I made the right choice (if there is one), and the remaining 99% of the country made the wrong one, then I will equally share in the consequences.  So is it fair that my future rests at the hands of the majority? I don’t know.  Maybe it is, maybe it isn’t.  But one thing that I am sure of is that the majority does not possess the intellect to make the right choice for ME.  Let me better explain it with the current situation.  Everyone likes Duterte because of his promise of getting rid of crime and corruption.  People of course jump on to that and say: “Hey, that’s one thing we definitely need! I’ll vote for this guy!”  But let’s take a step back here real quick.  Is there even a problem with crime in the first place? I know that people are getting killed on a daily basis and women are raped all over the world.  But honestly… When was the last time you were a victim of a crime? When was the last time you were robbed? When was the last time your car was car napped?  When was the last time someone tried to murder you?  I am not saying that we should dismiss the cases of crime happening around us just because we are not the victims ourselves.  But you have to understand; crime is a byproduct of human interaction. It has been there since time immemorial.  We cannot get rid of it, there will always be a margin of crime that will always be there.  So is there a problem with crime? Definitely no!  It is a situation! And you don’t solve situations, you adopt to them until they change.  That is why I am not buying Duterte’s promise of getting rid of crime and instead supports Mar Roxas’ bid to provide a more stable economy so people will have the chance to afford themselves a more secured life.  Because like it or not, safety comes with a cost.  It is not like a magic blanket you put over yourself to hide from the Boogeyman.  It is a commodity that you have to work for day and night.

Election is just around the corner.  I am not trying to convince you to vote for Mar Roxas.  He may be the right choice for me, but he is definitely not the right choice for everyone.  No one is.  My goal here is to simply give a wake up call to those who are blindly following their idols.  If you ever find yourself having to sweat simply to justify your candidates actions or words.  Then there’s a big chance you may be on the wrong side.  Just throwing it out there…