Presidential candidate Mar Roxas speaks before hundreds of students in the University of San Jose-Recoletos Center for the Performing Arts yesterday. (CDN PHOTO/CHRISTIAN MANINGO)
Saying that young people and non-government groups matter to him, Liberal Party’s presidential bet Manuel “Mar” Roxas yesterday showed up as the only guest in a forum that was originally designed for all presidential wannabes.
“I thought this would be a presidential debate. I don’t know what the other (presidential aspirants) are doing,” he told the crowd, composed mostly of students, at the University of San Jose-Recoletos’ (USJ-R) Center for Perfoming Arts.
Mega Cebu invited to the forum other presidential candidates but only Roxas confirmed attendance.
Vice President Jejomar Binay graced another forum in Cebu, while Senator Grace Poe attended a Senate hearing yesterday. Senator Miriam Santiago, on the other hand, had a speaking engagement in Manila.
In an interview why attending gatherings organized by students and other groups is important to him, Roxas said he wants to prove that indeed they are his boss.
“Students and NGOs are truly the foundation of our country. What kind of plan do we come up with if we exclude these groups. They are our bosses after all,” he said.
In his speech, Roxas said his father Gerardo, a former senator, taught him two things — plan your work and work your plan.
“All of us have visions and plans. The country, in fact, plans very well. But the problem is in the execution,” he said, alluding to numerous programs and projects that were never realized in previous administrations.
“No matter how good the plans are, unless they are implemented, remain useless. Plans need to be carried out. Otherwise, they remain to be great Powerpoint presentations and handouts,” he added.
In the 1950s, Roxas recalled that the Philippines was second to Japan in terms of progress among Asian nations.
Now, neighboring countries have overtaken the Philippines by leaps and bounds and has been called the ‘sick man of Asia.’
“If history were to teach us, nations rise and fall. But destinies of nations are very much determined by what the people of this nations do,” he said.
The road to development, he said, has begun when President Benigno Aquino III assumed the presidency in 2010.
Among those present during the forum were Cebu Gov. Hilario Davide III, Rep. Gerald Anthony “Samsam” Gullas of Cebu’s first district, Gordon Alan Joseph of the Metro Cebu Development and
Coordinating Board, veteran lawyer Democrito Barcenas and his wife Lourdes.
Roxas encouraged young people to choose well.
Earlier yesterday, Roxas also wooed the students of the University of the Visayas (UV).
Gullas endorsed Roxas to the students and introduced him as the next President of the Republic of the Philippines.