Top 5 Reasons Why You Should Not Count Out Mar Roxas Yet

There were already three surveys conducted by different reputed survey firms and the results showed that the battle for presidency is between Mayor Rodrigo Duterte and Senator Grace Poe. At some point in time, Vice President Jejomar Binay held the top position but could not hold on to it longer than expected probably due to tons of issues lodge not only against him but for his entire family who also hold electoral positions.  The only consistent candidate is in terms of ranking is Mar Roxas who is at the tail end of the spectrum.

But, when you dig deeper at the figures, you can say that no candidate is considered as front-runner and only their supporters think so. The figures showed that there is not much significant differences that separate the candidates and it is still anybody’s ball game.  With that, you can say that Mar Roxas is not yet out of the game.  There are three reasons why is this so.


Mar is the Administration's Candidate

First, he is the administration’s candidate and we all know that the administration candidates always have the advantage in terms of political machinery.  Mar Roxas has the government’s resources at his command or request.  This is the reality of election, not only here in the Philippines but in other parts of the world as well.  This advantage is recognized as the last two weeks factor in terms of running political campaigns.  In the Philippine political campaign situation, two weeks before the election is the most critical phase as this is where the wheel and deal part of the political process happens.  This is where endorsements occur in the guise of vote buying.  Every political candidate knows this; thus, each candidate courts rich benefactors to finance his or her political campaign.

Daang Matuwid

Second, there are still “Daang Matuwid” loyalists and perhaps this will increase as days going to election become nearer. How will this increase will happen?  There will be lots of mudslinging and character assassination involved (other than current ones) that will help change minds of voters.  For now, Duterte is commanding lead ranking in some areas but as soon as some of them are brainwashed and think that Duterte’s presidency is all about fear, voters may decide to switch.  Or as the campaign to continue discrediting Poe’s citizenship despite Supreme Court’s approval become more damaging to her, some of her voters might consider voting Mar Roxas as an intelligent move considering that both candidates are perceived to be President’s Aquino “manok.”


Binay has no Hold over his Assets

Third, for as long as Binay will not get hold of his assets, he won’t have the resources to make the difference during the last two weeks of the election campaign. Everyone knows that Binay’s campaign is all about vote buying and sympathy.  Milking sympathy no longer works for him as more people are convinced that he stole money but the moment he shared the stolen resources to people that is shaking the game and might make him win.  Mar Roxas is targeting Duterte during campaign probably because Duterte has the most volatile supporters even if they are the most loyal ones. 


Jokes may Result to Sympathy like Erap's Case

Fourth, at this point in time Mar Roxas may not win the battle of perception with him being constantly the butt of jokes in social media networks. However, one must remember Erap's situation where he gained voters because of sympathy as nastier jokes involving Erap surfaced during the 1998 presidential elections.  Instead of the jokes presenting the inanity of Erap being president, poor people sympathized with Erap and rewarded him with one of the most lopsided win in a presidential contest.


Online Voting is a Farce

Fifth, online voting is a farce.  What supporters of other candidates do not realize is that there are still a huge number of Filipinos who do not have access to the Internet. Online voting is always precarious and suspicious as it is more prone to technological maneuvers to create the impression that this particular candidate is leading the survey.  Yes, “False Asia” and “Social Weather Weather lang" survey methods are questionable but based on history, these firms were able to predict it correctly.  And the figures showed that Mar Roxas is at the tail end but he can still catch up.  As they say, not everything in the Internet is true. 

The 2016 election is indeed a very challenging political exercise as there is no runaway winner.  Everything boils down to strategy and political machination.  This is a situation where all factors should be considered; where 3G’s (guns, goon, and gold) will work alongside with charisma, and network of supporters for example.  Whoever wins will determine the correct formula to win an election in these times.  And with that, Mar Roxas is still in the game as, as of this writing it is still indeed very early to tell or claim victory.  One thing is sure, there will be no landslide victory.

Image credits (in order):
dzrhnews.com
PinoyExchange forum based on the Pulse Asia Survey
Social Weather Survey report from a YouTube video
Philstar.com