Advancement in technology and the advent of social media has made the dissemination of information so much faster nowadays. Anyone who has access to a computer and a WiFI connection can receive instant information from the Net about what’s happening locally and globally. This has proven to be a double-edged sword for some high-profile personalities particularly in the Philippines.
One personality who quite often becomes a victim of online ridicule is Department of Interior and Local Government Secretary Mar Roxas. His recent mishap when he fell from a motorbike during an ocular inspection of areas affected by typhoon Ruby in Eastern Samar drew harsh criticism instead of sympathy.
Mar Roxas stammered through a 2013 interview with CNN’s Andrew Stevens at Haiyan’s Ground Zero.
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Roxas’s supporters condemn those who criticize him saying that he should be given a break since he was only doing his job when he decided to ride a motorbike to go to Dolores, one of the areas affected by typhoon Ruby. First of all, his critics were actually concerned for his safety and pointed out that he should have been wearing a helmet especially since the conditions where dangerous.
His passenger Malacanang spokesperson Edwin Lacierda wasn’t wearing a helmet either. Both were at risk of receiving fatal head injuries. There was obviously a reason why the Motorcycle Helmet Act of 2009 mandates motorcycle riders to wear the said protective gear but it did not occur to them to observe it. Some people are now baffled as to why both Roxas and Lacierda can get away with the violation and did not get penalized for it. It seems the law is not applied equally to everyone in the Philippines.
Roxas violated the Motorcycle Helmet Act of 2009 in his seeming efforts to grab media attention in Samar.
Third, a lot of people are now asking why a cabinet member like Roxas had to be the one to go to the affected areas himself. As the head of the department, his men should have been the one doing the assessment of the damaged areas and give him a briefing of the status immediately after.
What Roxas could have done after realizing that access roads to the areas affected by the typhoon were blocked by debris is to organize its removal from the roads as soon as possible. One can only imagine how helpless and useless he would have been after reaching his destination and seeing the devastation considering he didn’t have the proper equipment to fix anything anyway since he only brought a motorbike with him. All he could do was take notes, which as mentioned above could have been done by any of his men or women.
What did Roxas hope to accomplish in going to areas inaccessible by car anyway? He and his supporters were obviously expecting kudos for being “hands-on”. But the people only saw someone who was recklessly taking advantage of the opportunity to grandstand in front of the media. Likewise, one could also argue that since he insists that he was just doing his job, there was nothing commendable about his actions especially since it hasn’t resulted in anything significant. It’s not like he prevented the typhoon from wreaking havoc.
Publicity stunts showing politicians doing ‘ordinary’ things have become tired cliches.
The Filipino people do not deserve another onion-skinned crybaby as their next administrator. They already have that in the incumbent president. They need someone who knows how to delegate even from a distance; someone who can inspire his people to do the groundwork for him and make it look like he did it himself. After all, those who will help push him up should know that they will be pulled up along the way. But that’s only if Roxas is willing to trust his staff to do the right thing. Apparently, it seems he doesn’t trust them enough so he feels he has to do the job himself.
Even in the midst of the Haiyan disaster in 2013, politics was top of mind for Mar Roxas.
Finally, the most obvious reason why Roxas cannot get a break from his critics is because he tries too hard to please the voters. His public relation stunts quite often backfire. That’s because he steals the focus away from the victims during a disaster by ending up being the topic of the news. In other words, since he calls attention to himself, he attracts both good and bad criticism. Emphasis is on the bad.
And he’s just half of the story. His news anchor wife Korina Sanchez grabs attention too with her inappropriate comments. Her latest gaffe wishing the typhoon would just go straight to Japan should teach her producers from ABSCBN a lesson – to keep the microphone far away from her.
Sadly, both husband and wife shouldn’t be in influential positions in Philippine society. The only upside to them staying on: the memes are always hilarious.
In life, things are not always what they seem.
“The only upside to them staying on: the memes are always hilarious”. -This is EPIC
you’re absolutely right ilda, him being there didn’t accomplish or resulted in anything significant.
Please guys and gals do not vote for Mar Roxas in the coming 2016 presidential elections. This asshole Mar fucked up in typhoon Haiyan. What ever happened to the checks given by the international community? All of the plywood bunkhouses was torn to pieces in the recent intrusion of typhoon Ruby. Mar keeps on doing his cheap publicity stunts at the expense of the people. This parasite is part of the BS Aquino dictatorship and he will surely do no good for this country.
Spot on! Sino nga ulit ahensya ni Mar?
Mukhang may ma lulugi at mapapalitan ng di oras.
I rem how Brother Eddie failed in his public office bid many times (Presidential 2004, Presidential 2010,Senatorial 2013) only because the people around him do not deliver the expected results but just keep on brushing his egoes.
Ending, the holy man spent tons of cash for nothing.
Same story with Mar, same tragic story.
Please take note guys also that he has a stupid political operators, media relations officer, public relations officer since this picture hindi naman kakalat if hindi nila na upload.
Someone should nickname him Kate Upton because of all the cameras in tow. What really goes on in these sessions. Taps MMDA officer, “can you please step aside and let me direct traffic? I have my own paparazzi force here.” Goes to warehouse ” Can you please pass me that sack of onions? I want to make the 6 PM news”. Mar makes more sense when you realize who he married and who his idol is. Granted we would all be better off in the honesty department if those two were the same person.
There’s a reason manual labour is payed low and executive positions pay high. The skills required to perform the earlier is in abundant supply, while the skills required to perform the latter are in short supply, presumably because you need more education and more experience to do executive work, while grunts can hit the ground running with grunt work as soon as they turn 18 — or so the theory goes.
So what’s essentially happening whenever a Cabinet-level official does stuff that field workers should be doing is buying a Mercedes Benz to haul manure.
Too bad for Filipinos, though, that they’re the type of people who need to see their leaders in the field in order for them to believe that “they’re working.” The thinking process is not as valued here simply because it is not seen, yet it has more impact. When the basis of public perception of a public servant is not results, but visibility or popularity, obviously politicos have no other choice.
Whether our politicians are really capable of thinking, though, is another question entirely.
That’s probably the root of the matter. There is no appreciation of thinking in an intellectually-bankrupt society like the Philippines. As such, the notion that executives are paid for their brain and not for their muscle is an alien concept to Filipinos.
WHAT ? where do you get that from? OMG ! Roxas is not a Mercedes, and neither is the work he performs.
If BS Aquino has a minute brain, then ADHD Roxas has a micro brain.
I’d rather have a dog or a cat who are more intelligent and performing, than these two stupid bozos combined.
Roxas and his wife Have Genetic Predisposition of being stupid. They want to hug the media limelight, to further their political ambition.
Lacierda is also stupid…
Obviously, it was a mere publicity stunt. If it were ordinary people who were not wearing helmets they would have been easily issued tickets considering the cops that were deployed to secure the secretary and party enroute to the engagement area. Come to think of it, if they were wearing helmets then it would have a lesser publicity impact since they won’t easily be recognized as the “messiahs” who were there to help te people. And the “motorcycle slipping” incident was just a scenario to project a do-good secretary/ politician who’s willing to risk everything in the name of service to the Filipino people. However, is it not the PNP which is under the functional supervision of DILG who’s under ehem… Mr Secretary Mar Roxas himself who’s suppose to enforce the law such as wearing helmets for motorists? How do we impose this law if the people on top of this law enforcement agencies are themselves violating this. An act in desperation to salvage his political ambitions to become the next president. Sorry, but they’ve got the dumbest and stupidest PR advisers which they should fire immediately. Next act please.
Let’s not forget the mind boggling investigation duo of Aquino and Roxas who apparently had nothing better to do one Sunday evening than inspect the crime scene of a jewelry store robbery on SM North EDSA.
Only in the Philippines would a president and his lackey do something as trivial as that.
FILIPINOS DO NOT HAVE THE KNOWHOW TO INVESTIGATE …
Filipinos investigation by the Senate and by PMA police superintendents take Filipinos for a ride … and …
Filipinos love the ride by blogging about it … not of its investigative process … but compounding gossips … depending on their political bias and affiliation
When it comes to investigation BLOGGERS are outright hands-down clueless stupid. Because they only read and watch Filipino Fake News and Filipino movies. Those Filipinos who are abroad do not read ABCNews, CBSNews, NYTimes, WashingtonPost … and other American intelligent big boys newspapers.
Filipinos main source of “intelligent” newspapers are those free-for-the-taking Filipino newspapers abroad which at best are just as plain stupid as the Filipino who picks it up to read.
PLEASE FILIPINOS read foreign news website. Check out how we do political, criminal investigations. We do not publish it in the newspaper that they are going to be investigated and raided. We simply just show up to their surprise not giving them time to shred and hide evidences.
GOT IT FILIPINOS?