Mar Roxas, for trouble-shooting

Obscured somewhere in the inside pages of a newspaper, one came across a short item that President Noynoy needed VP loser Mar Roxas as his “chief trouble-shooter.”

What had led the President to muse aloud, has now escaped recall. Was it that time when Taiwan authorities felt biliously bitter after the Philippines “expatriated” to mainland China some Taiwanese caught for a grave offense, instead of sending them home to Taiwan?

One recalls that Taipei authorities took umbrage with the insult, such that, talks were rife of cutting informal business ties with the Philippines, unless the latter formally apologize for the faux pas. Since the Philippine DFA also insisted that there was nothing obnoxious or improper in international comity committed, the impasse stood unresolved for sometime.

Cooler and wiser heads must have prevailed on President Noynoy to break the impasse as, indeed, the “expatriation” of Taiwanese law-breakers to China, was a diplomatic blunder – even with the “one-China” policy being observed – and so, former Senator Manuel Roxas II was finally tapped without officially representing the Philippine government. In short, “Niño Bonito” Mar was able to appease Taiwan’s anger without the latter insisting for the Philippines’ note verbale or whatever official “mea culpa.”

The nation also remembers what ensued with the Philippines-Hongkong amity ties over the Hongkong travelers’ tragedy at the hands of PNP Inspector Rolando Mendoza. Despite sending VP Jejomar Binay and other emissaries, Hongkong didn’t relent from their well-founded anger. Now, this is not to compare the similar roles of VP loser Mar Roxas and VP winner Jejomar Binay; nevertheless, even a passing “non-comparison” could not be avoided with impishness.

Since the almost-forgotten news item on Mar’s getting hitched for trouble-shooting under Pres. Noynoy’s admin, the question nagging for sometime now is: “Why not, indeed?” Of course, there’s the law that bars a defeated election candidate from being appointed to any public position within a period of one year from the election, which is nigh to lapse.

But then, any president or head of state can tap any expert and/or wise men in the private sector without any formal appointment. And yet, in the one-year interim, it has been obvious that Mar Roxas has not been harnessed, let’s say, even for specific gargantuan problems on the economy, which is supposedly Mar’s forte.

President Noynoy seems principally reliant for his economic policy and programs on his Cabinet, particularly Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima, whose exposure is on private economic affairs, and also on the hitherto untested coterie of Malacañang subalterns.

Incidentally, Mar Roxas is the son of Senator Gerry Roxas and grandson of the fourth president of Philippines, Pres. Manuel Acuna Roxas, whose principal acumen in public governance was, coincidentally, on economics. Like grandfather, like grandson, Mar’s expertise is a carry-over of his brilliant grandfather, and also from father Gerry as economics buff.

It needs no treatise that the heart and soul of any nation’s development is on the economy encompassing multifarious concerns on business and commerce, banking, industrial and entrepreneurial know-how, agriculture, IT networking, finance and taxation, and practically all facets of government.

Worthwhile citing are problematic situations cropping up, such as, multi-millions if not few billions of taxes allegedly condoned; indiscriminate transfers of trust or special funds as no different from the previous administration spawning graft and corruption; the gargantuan public funds cleansing of excessive expenditures of previous departments or agencies, like, the DOTC, the military, the GOCCs and NFIs, etc., have yet to fully fructify; and, a slew of similar financial chaos are still dragging down any positive development.

And, if there’s any one person that the national leadership now can lean on, it’s Senator Manuel “Mar” Roxas.