From the pan into the fire

That the appointment of Mar Roxas as new DILG secretary to replace the late Jess Robredo is a political move is correct in two respects. The first is obvious. There is always a political character in Cabinet appointments, the Cabinet being the official family of the president.

In case we have forgotten, the president is always the number one politician of a any country. And if that country happens to be the Philippines, whose people eat politics for breakfast, lunch or dinner, then their leader has to be the most politicized of all.

So, never mind the political nature of Roxas in that respect. That is a given and comes as a matter of course. It is the political aspect in the second respect that should prove more interesting.

It is very clear to anyone that Roxas should be the top choice of President Aquino for new DILG secretary. Of all the Cabinet positions, it is the Department of Interior and Local Government that provides the most ideal springboard for any future elective position.

And it is no secret to anyone that the heart of Roxas bleeds for the presidency. In fact, Roxas has angled for the presidency long before anyone ever considered Aquino. In case we have forgotten, Aquino was never a presidential material to begin with.

It was only when his mother, former president Cory Aquino, died that it occurred to some political bright boys that the old Cory Magic that surfaced at her burial can be whipped into a tidal wave of support for her boy, never mind if he was fit for the job or not.

After all, in this country, where again everyone eats politics for breakfast, lunch and dinner, qualifications are not as important as winnability. With his numbers never rising to a comfortable level, Roxas was ripe for being pushed aside in favor of Aquino.

But if you think Aquino owes Roxas a favor, you are deeply mistaken. Had Roxas not been pushed aside by Aquino, our president today would have been either Joseph Estrada or Manny Villar.

More than Aquino shoving Roxas aside, it was more of Roxas giving way to Aquino for practical reasons. Had Roxas insisted on running for the presidency, he would still have lost. And had Aquino chosen to run even if Roxas did not give way, both of them would have lost badly.

So, neither of them owes the other anything. That being the case, the only political reason for Aquino’s appointment of Roxas to DILG is in the first respect, but never as a means to pave the way for some greater plan for Roxas.

It is a mistaken notion that putting Roxas in DILG will put him in a position from which he can leap to the presidency. That is giving to much credit to the winnability of Roxas. Do not mistake me. Roxas is a good, honest and decent man. He just ain’t the presidential kind.

There are several reasons why Roxas, even now that he is the DILG secretary, will still not make president. The number one reason is, of course, Aquino himself. With still four years to go, there are still many things that can go wrong with his presidency that will affect Roxas.

Another reason why the chances of Roxas are not that bright is that, by the time 2016 swings around for the next presidential election, the competition facing Roxas will be very formidable.

Foremost among them will be Vice President Jejomar Binay, which is the reason why the administration of Aquino is now not so subtly starting to move to tear him down piece by piece. And then there are the young senator upstarts like Chiz Escudero or Bongbong Marcos.

Anyone of these three can beat Roxas anytime, even if he has Aquino behind him. Indeed, there is no telling if Aquino standing behind Roxas would still prove to be an asset or would in fact be a liability, for years from now. And then who can really rule out Manny Villar?

Finally, Roxas will not make president because of the one thing people overlooked in his DILG appointment. After all the hype about Robredo, Roxas is now thrust into a position where he is doomed to fall short of the legend. Wonder if this wasn’t to deliberately kill Roxas’ chances?