Between the devil and the deep blue sea
I refuse to believe that the possible one-on-one contest between Vice President Jejomar Binay and Secretary Manuel Araneta Roxas II is a choice between the devil and the deep blue sea. As a lawyer, I demand proof beyond reasonable doubt that one of them is the devil or the "kampon ng pangungurakot" and that the other is completely inept, incompetent and cannot be trusted to lead a nation of 105 million Filipinos. It is conceded, without being admitted, that Jojo Binay's name has been considerably maligned, tarnished and damaged in the polls of public opinion. His popularity ratings have gone down considerably although there is a loyal group of about 30 percent that remains behind him.
Likewise, I am not at all convinced that Mar Roxas is the epitome of ineptitude, nor that he is the icon of incompetence. Perhaps, the only real and proven weakness of this guy is that he is not very good at projection. He is beaten by Binay in the intricate art of posturing. Jojo Binay projects himself as the candidate of the poor guy, eating with his bare hands, wearing faded polo barongs and looking very ordinary, talking simply and without much fanfare. Mar Roxas looks like he is trying too hard to look like a common man while Jojo Binay appears very natural and spontaneous. In other words, Mar loses to Binay in the art of making lasting impressions.
The problem that Binay faces today is quite formidable. Because of the relentless "assassinations" of his character by some senators like Antonio Trillanes III, Alan Peter Cayetano and Koko Pimentel and the ceaseless attacks from Malacañang partisans, Binay's popularity ratings have nosedived. And as a result, his possible financiers have shied away and some supporters are distancing themselves from his camp. Therefore, with so many of his accounts being garnished by the courts, how will Jojo Binay finance his campaign? The TV clips of Mar Roxas consistently hammers on the line that his opponent is "kampon ng katiwalian." This will be the line that the LP will keep on hammering on.
On the other hand, the problem of Mar Roxas is also very difficult to solve; his image is that of an "ilustrado," an "haciendero," "elite" capitalist. He is not one of the "masa" or the "hoi polloi." His handlers find it very hard to make him look approachable, to look like he can understand the plight of the masses. To me, there's nothing wrong with that. It is not his fault. The image that is more insurmountable is the image of being inept and incompetent. I do not know why his handling of the Yolanda disaster rescue and rehabilitation leaves a negative impression of his ability to make things happen. I do not know why he is being blamed partly of the Mamasapano tragedy when we all know that he was kept in the dark.
If the only choice is between one who is tagged of being corrupt and another who is being considered incompetent then I would say the voters have a Georgian knot that is difficult to untie. Corruption, assuming it is proven, to my mind, is less desirable to the voters than ineptitude. There has been a lot of ineptitude in the history of Philippine presidencies, including allegedly the many "ineptitude" of the late president Cory Aquino with all due respect, simply because, he had absolutely no experience. Also, it is common knowledge that former president Erap Estrada had his share of alleged "incompetence." But then again, incompetence is not incurable.
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