MAR should present the ‘unpackaged’ version of himself

If the latest Social Weather Station (SWS) surveys are to be believed, indications are that former Local Government Secretary Mar Roxas may still win the elections. 

Also, indications are he has better chances of winning if he were to stay away from the shadows of the future ex-president.

Roxas was a major gainer in the SWS survey. He garnered 22 percent, up from 18 percent from the previous polling period. The survey was reportedly taken last March 4-7. If the survey results from SWS are accurate, then Roxas has proven three other things besides winnability.

First, that he is the best debater among the aspirants.

Second, that speaking well before a live audience is one of the more powerful aspects of his personality, which he can use to win over people to his side.

Third, that when Roxas stands up on occasions like a presidential debate, he is his authentic self. This was not his crafted version. The real him just may be the secret to getting a chance at being elected.

It is about time the advertising experts spending his money and those of his donors start considering that. Roxas just might have a better chance if he presents the “unpackaged” version of himself, far from the shadows of PNoy.

Two more similar debates to be televised nationwide are slated to be held before and after the Holy Week.

Roxas’s handlers should grab these opportunities to show the voting public the authentic face of their candidate. Should they forfeit that chance, they might as well kiss Roxas’s bid for the Palace seat goodbye.

As we mentioned in last week’s column, it appears – as many believe – that the future ex-president may actually be a liability to Roxas. It now appears that there is no such thing as “PNoy magic.”

In fact, the future ex-president may have become what some communicators call a “negative endorsement” – the more he endorses a candidate, the less the chance people would vote for his endorsee.

As for the future ex-president, we suggest that he stay away from divisive statements that tend to pit Filipinos against one another.

At his recent speech at the graduation of the Philippine Military Academy (PMA), PNoy zeroed in on two incumbent senators whom he accused of blocking the passage of the Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL).

It appeared he wanted to convey the message that if the two senators had not blocked the BBL, then our young soldiers would not have to risk their lives in the war in Mindanao.

We hope the future ex-president realizes that his statement may have fomented anger in the hearts of our young officers against elected public officials.

He may have conveyed the message that our elected political leaders are deliberately pushing our young officers into the killing zones of Mindanao.

The future ex-president whose departure from the Palace this year is a much-anticipated event must have left his brains with his electronic toy gadgets when he made that remark.

No doubt, the future ex-president has been a very divisive character.

We hope the next occupant of Malacanang would not display the same propensity.

In the remote possibility that Roxas wins the presidency, we hope he would not allow PNoy to impose upon him the former’s insatiable desire to get back at perceived nemeses. No doubt, this desire has clouded the future-ex-president’s decision-making faculties.

For example, he opted to rant against his avowed nemeses, the Marcoses, during the last celebration of the so-called Edsa Revolution. He could have used that time to make a pitch for Roxas’s bid. Instead, he gave significant airtime to vilifying the Marcoses.

Unfortunately, the rant appears to have merely raised the survey ratings of Sen. Bongbong Marcos, now running for vice president.

Or, if there is anyone he could have opted to attack, it should have been the presidential contenders who are ahead of Roxas in the surveys.

Had he done so, he could have gotten the solid commitment of the Yellow Brigade to back Roxas’s presidential bid.

As it stands today, Roxas’s ratings may have shown that not all fans of the Edsa Revolution are behind him.

They cannot be blamed. After all, Roxas was never part of the Edsa Revolution.