Presidential anointing

Why do I have a nagging feeling that Mar Roxas will follow the fate that befell Jose de Venecia in the 1998 presidential elections? That election was won by popular movie star Joseph Estrada. De Venecia was anointed by President Fidel Ramos who saw him as the best person to continue his vision of a modern Philippines, encapsulated by the slogan “Philippines 2000.” Ramos was ending his term on an economic high, even skirting the impact of a world financial crisis.

With an overwhelming majority in both houses of Congress, De Venecia was supposed to be a shoo-in for the presidency, with virtually all the congressmen endorsing him and promising to campaign for him.

As the months rolled closer to the elections, however, it became clear that De Venecia was unpopular compared to Estrada, who literally had star power, a mass of movie fans willing to give him the reins of the presidency.

Now comes Mar Roxas, personally anointed this time by President  Benigno “P-Noy” Aquino III. Will this anointment work in Roxas’ favor or will he end up like De Venecia?

Beyond his admitted “suplado” (snobbish) personality, there are a few things, I think, that will not work in Roxas’ favor. The most obvious is that presidential anointing, as shown above, does not necessarily translate to victory. Even Gilbert Teodoro, the most prepared of the presidential candidates of 2010 and for me the best president we never had, lost largely because of his anointing by the unpopular Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

Then there is the nagging perception that P-Noy’s anointing last Friday was due to a debt of gratitude and nothing more—for Roxas’ giving way in 2010 following the emotional outpouring over the death of Cory that propelled P-Noy to the presidency. P-Noy also has to answer why he did not inform Roxas of the botched Mamasapano operation by the Philippine National Police (PNP) early this year, despite Roxas’ position as head of the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) which oversees the PNP. Does he not trust him enough?

Then there were those dinners with Sen. Grace Poe and her hanger-on, Sen. Chiz Escudero, which failed to get her to be Mar’s running mate—what with Escudero oddly tagging along.

True, Roxas can rely on the huge Liberal Party majority in the House of Representatives, but for how long?

You see, the problem with Philippine politics as I keep on writing about here, is that political parties are mere vehicles, devoid of substance and life, to politicians who jump from one party to the other as opportunities dictate. One need not look further when finding evidence of the immaturity of the country’s representative democracy, despite over a century in practice already.

Political parties are born as fast as a disgruntled political contender bolts an existing one. When it becomes clear that the best alternative to Vice President Jejomar Binay in 2016 is Sen. Poe, watch how your congressional reps begin to seem like lice jumping all over the place, abandoning a dying dog and looking for another more promising one—never mind if it’s a kitten this time—to feed on their voracious appetite for power. This has been happening since we copied the American political system with dismal results obviously, and one that will not end anytime soon.

One can no longer count with one’s fingers all those ruling political parties that have come and gone with each change in the presidency. Others, like the Liberal Party, do get resurrected from time to time. But will the LP survive 2016 with Mar Roxas? It is still too early to tell. But your guess is as good as mine.