EDITORIAL - Ex-future president one more time

Oh oh, it now appears that Interior and Local Government secretary Mar Roxas, heretofore the presumptive administration standard-bearer in the presidential election of 2016, will have to be addressed by another name, that of ex-future president. No less than President Aquino himself said he is now looking for somebody to anoint, and that somebody need not necessarily come from the Liberal Party, of which he is the chairman.

For so long, Roxas had been angling for the presidency. He was, in fact, the shoo-in bet for president of the party in the 2010 elections. But fate apparently had other plans. Former president Cory Aquino died just before the elections. Her death reignited old passions and stirred enough numbers that certain manipulative bright boys quickly calculated would be sufficient to pave the road to Malacañang in yellow.

And thus was born the Noynoy Aquino movement, a campaign buttered heavily by unassailable do-good rhetoric, never mind if, in all of his living years nobody ever gave Noynoy any serious thought as a remotely possible presidential campaign. But there was no ignoring the numbers that turned up for Cory. A guy like Noynoy doesn't take much persuading. He said yes. And poor Roxas was left standing outside the door.

Of course they made Roxas the vice presidential candidate, an insult if you ask the tricycle driver promised a Mercedes Benz. But Roxas cannot complain, at least not publicly. Besides, why complain when the numbers suggested he would not win anyway. And so they lathered Roxas thoroughly as the new age of politics hero who had been willing to sacrifice his own ambitions in favor of a movement meant to reform Philippine society.

The majority of Filipinos, however, did not buy the yarn and rejected Noynoy, voting instead for the other candidates. To the great misfortune of the majority, however, they could not agree on a single candidate opposite Noynoy. Voting for several other bets, they ended up spreading the vote, thereby allowing Noynoy to escape tragically with the win.

Even more tragically, Roxas lost his bid for a position that was, at best, already just a consolation. If Roxas managed to keep his faith in whatever it is he keeps faith in, it is only because of the slim notion that there is a next time. And that next time is 2016. That is the only thing that has kept Roxas going. And for most of the way in that direction, Roxas was again made to believe he would be it.

Until a few days ago, when Noynoy said it may not be Roxas after all. Of course, Noynoy did not say it that way. But is there any other way of saying it? Even worse, Noynoy said he has been talking to others, including Vice President Jejomar Binay. Suddenly the picture has become very clear. Noynoy needs to be assured that he does not go to jail after 2016 for his many unconstitutional abuses. He must have realized Roxas cannot give him that assurance if he is not even sure of winning.