For such a public servant and a government official, the primary goal is to serve the nations and to be a responsible model to all. Although, in the Philippine politics, it is more likely to be this way, that a representative of another generation of a certain clan will pursue what his ancestors have done before. But achievements only contribute to a name and not to the person itself, though, in fact, these can be use as an edge to others. Leadership and sincerity is not transmitted thru genes at all,

This inheritance of authority doesn’t justify anything at all. The Filipinos shouldn’t be moved to vote someone for the reason that his ancestor has done this. The country doesn’t owe anything to its leaders, because it is their task to do so but, the leader should pay exert effort to compromise with the trust given by their people.

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In relation to this, aside from the topping presidential bid Noynoy Aquino, Mar Roxas, the grandson of late President Manuel Roxas, is one good example. It doesn’t mean that since Mar Roxas is cleared and was qualified enough to stand for any position in our country.

Though, the web failed to provide a concise biography of Mar, still people was pushed to be skeptic about it and how in just a glimpse the people was oriented to this Mr. Palengke. One day, the Philippines was watching television with Korina Sanchez confirming her relationship with Mar Roxas.

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Right now, people were questioning Mar Roxas about the certain exclusion of some medicine from the Cheaper Medicine Act. It is said that those medicines excluded were produced by companies owned by Mar’s friend. That Mar Roxas concern for the poor was somehow defeated by his biased accommodation for his peers.

If he really wanted to help people, he should make these medicines be selected for the poor. He should have considered the possibility of those medicines to be needed by the poor.

As far as one can remember, Roxas promised a 50 % cut on the prices of 21 ESSENTIAL but EXPENSIVE medicines on all pharmaceutical firms which were actually implemented. The so-called Executive Order No. 821 imposed price cuts on anti-hypertensive, anti-cholesterol, anti-bacterial and anti-cancer medicines. These includes the anti-cancer drugs Cytarabine with a price ranging from P240 to P1, 980 and Doxorubicin and all their salt form which amounts from P1, 465 to P2, 265.74. Take note on the prices of the above mentioned medicines, is that the actual essential drugs bought by the poor Filipino families?

Senator Roxas is claiming that he is pro-poor Filipinos and that his heart is with the poor. Is he saying that just as a promotional campaign for his vice-presidency? We hope not.

Moreover, if Roxas is really caring for the welfare of the financially incapable Pinoys, then why did he excluded the real essential and most commonly taken medicines purchased by the most people in his much boasted Executive Order No.821? The medications for colds, coughs, fever and flu, headaches, allergies, diabetes, diarrheal infection and so on are the drugs where the prices should be slashed on. It causes more headaches in extending the Filipinos’ budget and pockets whenever there is an unwanted and unexpected illness in the family. Isn’t he just concerned with the benefit of his well-off friends who can afford the medicines he mentioned in his executive order? Or maybe, it is really just another ad to uphold his little good deeds and to endorse his name in the upcoming election polls.

Mar Roxas’ reputation is safe from the public’s eye since somehow, they have kept it very private although undeniably, some knows the skeletons in his closet. But still, some things are really left here to be known, and maybe because their foulness were easily sensed as well.

Ever since, the Mar-Korina affair was made public, most Filipinos have raised their eyebrows. It’s not like an all-against-odd version again that struck the news but more on a politician-using-partner’s-fame again thingy for us, Filipinos, and until the day now, even after their marriage and honeymoon… numbers of detractors still arises.

But actually, the public eyes somehow shouldn’t lay pity over Korina at all. That sweet smiling TV anchor wasn’t a goody-goody package as she seems to be, and as she was renowned to be. Intellectually, she has shown enough after graduating from Miriam College and earning couple of awards from her field. But, that doesn’t make her any more excluded from the conviction of hurting someone, her subordinate, just because she has all the power to rule over anybody.

Nevertheless was the presence of cases against her and her negligent towards her housemaid’s SSS. A good and responsible media personnel is fully aware of the consequences to come his/her way whenever someone fail to do so, and also they were one of the most informed people in regards to this insurances and public benefits.

Although, cases against Korina have already been dismissed and some articles in the web were somehow deleted already, the issues still marked in the minds of the Filipinos and how a 42 year old housemaid was accused of thievery and was beaten up by her and her boyfriend in Makati when it was said that the said stolen bracelet pawned.

With this thing, still, we can’t call anybody saint enough despite all the glamour, the background, and the image. After all, everything is just a screenplay for the riches, and the ambitious ones.

I mean, if you open the website, you’ll immediately see a huge photo of the late Senators Ninoy Aquino and Gerry Roxas at work, as if asking the people to liken them to Mar and Noynoy.

But other than being the sons of Ninoy Aquino and Gerry Roxas, Noynoy and Mar have absolutely no similarities to their fathers, who carved a name of their own in Philippine politics.

I dare ask what laws of relevance have Noynoy and Mar authored? Absolutely none, nada, zilch. Mar cannot even boast about the Cheaper Medicine Law because his was a watered-down version of so many bills that would have really lowered the prices of medicine.

And now Noynoy and Mar are shooting for the highest posts in the land? What gall these two have. It’s a shame that they would go so low as to milk the names of their fathers and, in the case of Noynoy, his mother the late Cory Aquino, just to get votes.

They should be their own man and not bank on the memories of their late parents, who may be turning in their graves because of the ultimate disrespect to their memories done by no less than their respective sons.

Noynoy and Mar should stand up on their own feet.

—DEVY PELAEZ, devypelaez@gmail.com