A change of destiny

Mar Roxas has always been popular with businessmen, and like Manny Villar, was being eyed more favorably as a presidential candidate by many members of the business community. His experience as an investment banker in New York makes people confident that he would be the type of leader who would understand the workings of the global market and could someday help make the Philippines economically at par with its wealthier neighbors.

Having been a former Trade Secretary, Mar is perceived to be business friendly and in fact, has the support of people like Cesar Purisima who himself was a former DTI Secretary. Which is why his withdrawal in the presidential race in 2010 came as a big surprise not only to his staff but to businessmen who were disappointed at the seeming haste of Mar’s decision.

Butch Abad, a Liberal party member who has been handling Mar’s “campaign,” admitted that the senator had been hurt by insinuations that he was getting in the way of party unity, since the LP was being torn between the choice of Mar or Noynoy Aquino as standard bearer. This perhaps spurred him to make the announcement of support even before Noynoy had made up his mind if he was running or not. 

No one will argue, however, that Mar’s decision was nothing short of heroic, setting aside whatever personal ambitions he had “for the sake of the country” and for unity – which brings to mind the same sacrifice that the late Doy Laurel made when he abandoned his presidential bid and gave way to Cory Aquino during the 1985 snap elections.

Although the circumstances at the time were different because anyone who would be running against Marcos was sure to win, it’s very much possible that our country’s history would have been totally different had Doy not made that ultimate act of sacrifice.

After all, the former vice president had also risked his life in fighting Marcos during Martial Law, organizing opposition groups under the banner of Unido, leading marches and protest movements against the government, rallying the people against the Marcos dictatorship. (Which makes it rather ironic, as his wife Celia had remarked, that the former vice president’s role in Edsa has virtually been ignored and forgotten all these years. But that is something for the writers of history to correct.)

While Mar may not have been the frontrunner in the recent surveys of SWS and Pulse Asia, many believe there was a very big chance that he would surge in the last few laps of the race, so to speak. With surveys being very volatile and sometimes highly dependent on current circumstances (much like short-lived fads and flash-in-the-pan trends), peaking too early in the game is not also good.

After all, there is such a thing as over-exposure especially if there are no more “surprises” left for a candidate to unveil as the end of the game draws near. With Mar, people were seeing a slow burn, anticipating that he would be inching slowly up the totem pole of presidentiables. And let’s not forget that in the two years or so that Mar had been preparing for the presidency, he had been able to sow many seeds of goodwill that have been steadily taking root and growing among the poorer sectors of society.

In his younger days, Mar was not in the equation because it was his brother, Gerry “Dinggoy” Roxas Jr. – described by Sen. Joker Arroyo as a charmer and a natural politician – who looked set to follow in the footsteps of Senator Gerry Roxas Sr. and Mar’s lolo, former president Manuel Roxas. But Dinggoy’s death due to a rare type of cancer made it inevitable for Mar to throw his hat into politics. He may have been reluctant in the beginning, but he had no choice and over the years, it was apparent that Mar was destined to become one of the shining stars in this country’s political firmament.

Looking back, there were a lot of indicators that Mar was destined for greater things – perhaps even the presidency which, as the saying goes, is a matter of destiny. But then again, it has also been said that destiny is what me make of it, shaped by our decisions and are largely the consequences of our actions.

With his withdrawal and declaration of support for Noynoy’s candidacy, it looked like Mar had decided to “change” his destiny. If one could recall, Mar was so overcome by emotion at the death of former president Cory Aquino that he proposed renaming Epifanio de los Santos Avenue or EDSA into Cory Aquino Avenue in honor of the late president.

Perhaps even then, he was already setting the stage for changes in the country’s political landscape, although he may not have been aware of it at the time. Cory’s death certainly triggered so many changes in the equation particularly for the opposition – although it is too early at this time to categorically say how things will shape up in the next few months for other presidential candidates from the opposition.

While it may be true that the presidency is a matter of destiny – already written in the stars long before a man is born – what is most important is for the future of Filipinos – especially those belonging to the marginalized sector – to shine with the brightest star. The next leader must be able to light the path of this country and make a difference, because on his shoulders rest the lives and the future of Filipinos whose numbers are projected to reach 100 million by 2012.

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