[On a side note, I now understand why Sir Nogoy always berates orange-wearing students in his class. One time, he commented so acerbically on my classmate’s orange lanyard that the guy actually took it off his neck and stuffed it into his bag, prompting Sir Nogoy to half-apologize. But if I hated Villar that much, I suppose I'd hate orange as well.]
Mar and Loren’s face-off was the only one from Round 3 that I bothered to watch. Mar asked his question first: Why did you choose an environment advocacy when the Philippines is insignificant in terms of causing climate change (producing greenhouse gases)? Loren replied that the Philippines is one of the top 10 most vulnerable places to live in given that we’re mostly coastal, and politicians should pay environment-related matters utmost attention. Then she went on naming all her projects (environment-related and not) as politicians are wont to do, before she slipped and mentioned her “shared” origin with Mar Roxas, citing that he comes from Capiz while she hails from Antique.
She dug her own grave.
Hearing this probably made Mar Roxas happy (although whether he was happy because of their shared heritage, one can’t be too sure of) because the next thing he did was speak to Loren in “their” native tongue. Although I’m not from the Panay area, I actually understood what he was saying; basically, he argued that although it’s true that we’re highly affected by climate change, we can’t really coerce the high polluters into limiting the waste discharge, can we?
I only wish Loren understood it half as lucidly as I did. The moment Mar finished asking his question, she replied very defensively, saying her grandmother came from Antique, and Relative So-and-So came from San Pedro, etc. To put it mildly, Loren lost it, ending her speech very badly, talking about red tide and obviously not really understanding what she was saying.
I can’t blame her though. If someone targeted my weakness in front of THE WHOLE PHILIPPINES, I’d probably panic and suffer instant foot-in-mouth disease as well. It’s a miracle she managed to keep talking. Her broadcasting background probably saved her, but barely.
Anyway, she was so shaken up that she couldn’t wait for the timer to start ticking before she asked Mar Roxas her question: Why is it that you keep changing sides? Initially you were on Erap’s side, but then you severed ties with him. Then you were part of the Arroyo administration (under DTI), but years later you were badmouthing her in public. And now, you recently asked Erap’s blessing to run for the May 2010 elections. So kindly explain why you keep switching sides.
Mar Roxas’ answer to that (and to the follow-up question which was similar to the first one except that it focused more on the Liberal Party instead of just Mar) basically revolved around the idea that “my boss is the people” such that he’ll do whatever they want him to do. Regarding the Erap issue, he said that he severed ties with the ex-president on very civil “lalaki sa lalaki” terms. He even sort of dared Loren to call Erap, because he was sure the guy would speak well of him; apparently, they separated on “good” terms. Regarding the issue with Ms Arroyo he said he went all opposition because he saw that what was happening was not right. And then he ended his defense with another “my boss is the people” statement, much to the delight of his yellow-clad supporters.
Oh and yes, he also said, "hindi naman ako yung paiyak-iyak sa Senado".
It came as no surprise that Mar’s trust rating in that particular segment was 91%+. Loren’s was 40%+ or so. She looked seriously forlorn, she did.
The lessons to be derived from this whole fiasco (which will undoubtedly show up tomorrow morning with highly sensationalized headlines) are: 1) Never pretend to be someone you’re not; and, 2) When you know you haven’t done anything wrong, there’s no reason to panic. (Unless you’ve got intense stage fright, that is.) The first lesson we learned from Loren: claiming to come from a province just to get votes from the people in that area is a very bad idea – which is also very irritating, if you’re someone from that place and you know a particular politician isn’t your kababayan at all. For all aspiring politicians, learn from Loren’s example: at least pick a province with a language you understand.
Lesson Two we learned from Mar. (I daresay he was a bit maangas tonight, but, oh well. He’s a politician, and those guys are about as predictable as the Kamia bed check system.) When Loren “politely” inquired about his loyalties – she actually felt the need to use the phrase “walang personalan pero…” – he was smiling as he waited for her to finish asking her question. In fact, he actually looked excited to answer it, as though he was hoping to get the chance to explain his reasons for all that switching he did. Somehow… I feel scared for him. His chances of winning the vice-presidency are too high that the only way to stop him now is via sabotage.
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