The greatest enemy of Mar Roxas, standard bearer of the ruling Liberal Party, in this election is his own self, Davao City-based daily SunStar Davao said in an editorial.

 “Not any of the three contenders need even resort to black propaganda against Roxas as the presidential candidate can generate it all by himself.”

CALLOUSNESS &

ARROGANCE

Simply put, the editorial’s message is this: Roxas is committing political suicide by self-immolation with his arrogance.

Couple that character with a wife in former television personality Korina Sanchez and this early we will already know that the political weather for Roxas’ presidential bid will be as tragic as the devastation of super typhoon Yolanda.

What is tightening the noose around the neck of this callous and arrogant scion of one of the Philippines’ wealthiest families?

Arrogance and Korina.

At the approach to the celebration of International Women’s Day this month, a video that went viral had Roxas’ wife’s former house maid detailing the physical violence inflicted on her by Korina.

RUDE KORINA GOES WILD IN PAMPANGA

Last week, in a stunt severely assailed as political bribery by critics, Roxas’ wife Koring, a former ABS/CBN news reader, led in the distribution of farm equipment and checks to several farmers in Tagum City in Davao del Norte. The subsidy was sourced from funds of the Department of Agriculture.

This being political season with Koring’s hubby Mar running for president, the camp of PDP-Laban presidential candidate Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte and a farmers’ group questioned the propriety of government resources being used to promote the candidate of the Liberal Party of President Benigno Aquino.

Korina Sanchez personally handing out cash and farm equipment to farmers is a form of bribery and vote-buying to influence voters to support her husband, said Peter Laviña, Duterte’s spokesman.

P1 BILLION BRIBERY FUND

Laviña earlier also lambasted Roxas for “bribing” barangay officials with promises of billions of pesos worth of projects if he is elected President in the May elections.

“Korina is now an accomplice in a systematic shameless act that conditions the electorate to accept doles in exchange for votes,” said Laviña.

The militant Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP) said Sanchez’s participation in the event is “tantamount to vote-buying.”

“Sanchez’ campaign stunt before farmers is a preview of a Roxas presidency. Imeldific, deceptive, and corrupt,” said KMP secretary general Antonio Flores.

“Worse, they are exploiting the predicament of hapless farmers in a desperate bid to win their votes,” according to Flores.

On Tuesday, March 8, a few days after Koring was skewered, Roxas, on a campaign sortie in Davao del Norte, was asked by a local journalist to react to the criticisms.

From a presidential candidate vowing to crush corruption if he is elected, the answer was callousness and a deafening silence of evasion to accusation that his dear Koring committed  bribery with her stunt in the distribution of government aid to farmers.

It is her right to freedom of expression to campaign, answered Roxas.

But he did not stop there. And the arrogance showed.

The SunStar Davao editorial said of the sordid incident:

For presidential candidate Mar Roxas (the criticisms) deserve his typical hot headed reply, and so videos (show) him ranting against a reporter (who asked the question).

Unmindful that there were journalists and regular folks with their cellphones and tablets, Mar ranted on as if ready to challenge anyone to a fistfight: “Ano ang sinasabi mo… deretsuhin mo ako, misis ko ito. Sinasabi mo ba na ginagamit ng misis ko [‘yung Department of Agriculture]? Una, pribado ang kanyang sasakyan. Pribadong pera ang kanyang ginagamit. Inaanyayahan siya. Ang sinasabi mo ba ay hindi siya pupunta sa kung saan siya ikinukumbida? ‘Di ba? Baka ginagawan mo lang ng issue ito na wala namang issue.”

“May ano ba na hindi siya pwedeng magbiyahe at mangampanya para sa kanyang asawa? Ano ang issue? Siya ang nangangampanya para sa kanyang asawa. ‘Yan ba ay tama or mali? Or illegal, di ba? So ano ang tinatanong mo?”

“Yun ang usual pero ‘yun ang sinasabi ko [na hindi] dahil lamang na may mga binabato na paratang, mga binabatong akusasyon, hindi ibig sabihin na totoo iyan.”