Apparently, a failure of PR, according to the following tweets:
Re: Quintuplets, story going around is completely inaccurate. We never abandoned them. We never stopped giving assistance…

Social welfare officer recommended that instead of cash, they be given livelihood training so that they won’t become dependent…

They sought help from a radio anchor who misinterpreted it as abandonment. I’m grateful that the parents have apologized about the incident

Thanks to commenter keefedelacruz for the head’s up :)

Happier Days: Mar and Korina visit the Quintuplets

Mar Roxas has never been, despite numerous recent attempts to be otherwise, “one of us.” Be it because of his pedigree, bearing, wealth, demeanor, education, the man just isn’t the “everyman” that his barfable campaigns — from Mr. Palengke to the Padyak ads to the heretofore unseen public displays of emotion — try to make him out to be. In my home province of Capiz (or Capis, if you’re a historian), his family is practically royalty; unfortunately not in the lovable mold of King Arthur with his holy hand grenades and water-logged tarts giving away swords, but rather the aristocratic mold of Louis the XVI. They are, to use the locally bastardized Spanish term, alta sociedad: the highest of the high in high society, the kind that social climbers have wet dreams of, kissing their feet. Old rich, and growing richer. Needless to say, empathy and charisma are not his strong points.

Unfortunately, Philippine politics being what it is — a rat race of wolves trying to look like sheep (George Orwell, I hope you’re proud) — charisma plays a key role in one of the three pillars of power: goons, gold and good looks (guns, goons and gold are so last century). To get elected, even in the local baranggay, a candidate must have a healthy dose of each pillar, or, as in the case of the 2004 presidential elections, an overwhelming advantage in one (Garci was the penultimate goon). Breaking it down, this means, as Al Capone once said: “You can get further with a kind word and a gun than you can with just a kind word.”

1. Goons — not always thugs; more appropriately labeled as henchmen, people with more than the normal amount of power willing to further your candidacy. Lower-tier goons serve as enforcers while those higher up serve as fixers, financial backers, middlemen, and all around movers and shakers. See also: Garcillano, Virgilio; Bolante, Jocjoc; Ver, Fabian.
2. Gold — money, and lots of it to pay off the goons and other people, as well as run your political machinery. Most often used to buy votes.
3. Good looks — not necessarily referring to one’s physical attributes; more appropriately labeled as “looking good”, this generally involves a lot of public relations work and spin, since voters still need a sense of connection. This is the reason why everybody from Mar Roxas and Manny Villar try so damn hard to project an “everyman” image, something that only Erap has ever managed to pull off. Has reached new heights since Obama became US President.

Of the three, the cheapest to implement is the third, and when done right and effectively, can more than compensate for deficiencies in the other two pillars (see Aquino, Cory). Unfortunately, we’ve already seen that it doesn’t work for everybody; the candidate needs to have “IT”, that elusive x-factor that makes even the hollowest of platitudes seem like the holy word of <insert deity here>. It’s the hardest to employ because the slightest misstep, even in the decades past, will come back to bite you in the ass.

Case in point: the issue regarding the country’s first quintuplets, and how Mar Roxas allegedly abandoned them after the photo-op despite making public promises of support. Now, there are some thoughts I’d like to clarify first:

• The man is not obligated, morally or otherwise, to open up his ginormous wallet for every Tom, Dick and Harry that comes to him, hat in hand. In fact, this goes for all politicians. We would do well to understand that our elected officials are not the feudal lords and hacienderos that our forefathers would go to for financial assistance. The money they give you is likely not even their own, but rather comes from allocations of the taxes we pay.
• But open up their wallets they do, these politicians, particularly the new ones (see Bolante, Jocjoc). It’s always done grudgingly, but with a smile plastered on their faces, saying that that’s what they’re there for, that they’re there to help and some such bullcrap. They do it because they don’t really have a lot of choice, particularly during election season — they don’t need the bad press of appearing to be insensitive to the needs of their constituents. In short, they need to look good.
• That, unfortunately, means that they’ll be taking out more from the public coffers to recoup their losses; the sheet (shit?) must be balanced.
• Of course, none of that matters to a parent whose kids will die or go hungry without financial support. Ultimately, it doesn’t matter where the money comes from. Kapit sa patalim, as it were. Principles and righteous indignation are for those who can afford it; after all, rich people don’t need to steal bread and sleep under bridges.
• Never mind that the main reason so many people are in dire straits in the first place is because these very same politicians are corrupt, squeezing the life’s blood out of our economy. Some even retard economic growth in their areas, just to ensure that they remain dominant. It’s a vicious cycle that will, at best, take generations to break.

As human interest stories go, Mar Roxas’ pledge of financial support for the treatment of the Fernandez quintuplets would have been a public relations coup; it should have humanized him — previously one of the country’s most eligible bachelors, now engaged to a minor celebrity on the wrong side of menopause, taking care of poor sick kids. But it didn’t work, and if the reports are to be believed, now we know why.

Because for all his pretensions at being Mr. Palengke, Mr. Padyak, whatever, we all know deep down that Mar Roxas just isn’t that guy. We know, in our heart of hearts, that it’s like Dick Grayson taking on the mantle of Batman — it’s not really him, it’s just a show. He’ll probably do when all else fails, but we’re still waiting for Bruce Wayne to show up.

So he’s not a cuddly bear. But is he, as others have indicated, a ruthless MOFO? While I certainly agree that it takes a certain kind of SOB to be successful at politics, I think it’s pushing the boundaries of reason to suggest that the Senator intentionally witheld financial assistance and let those kids die. After all, he’d see this kind of backlash coming, certainly. And he’s still human (right?); you just don’t let kids die when you can do something about it.

I think he forgot, or just didn’t see the urgency. After all, this is a guy born with a diamond-encrusted set of silver spoons in his mouth. It’s probably exhausting to drive a pedicab. Somebody from his staff probably did a major fuckup and forgot to update him on the dying quintuplets. Hell if I know what really happened.

But happen it did, and that’s because, really, the caring Mar? The one trying to convince you he feels what the other 90% is going through? That’s not real. Those quintuplets were just another photo-op in a long list of photo-ops. That’s just Mar Roxas trying to look good. Unfortunately for him, looks can’t deceive us anymore.

Related posts:

1. Do you love Mar Roxas now that he can curse?
2. Mar Roxas says no to BPO perks
3. Hints, allegations and things left unsaid
4. ComelecNCR Voter’s list removed
5. Ducat goes postal; I play Double Jeopardy