Lessons learned from working for Mar
He called me on a lazy day. “Don’t make any decision about your life until you’ve talked to me.” It was a few weeks after I resigned from the Office of the President as Undersecretary. I never had the chance to say that my first decision was to stay clear of politics for the meantime.
In a matter of minutes, Mar Roxas strode into my office with a bag of Jollibee sandwiches. One was a Big Champ, which he then proceeded to wolf down while another one was a smaller sandwich, which was offered to me by my hungry guest.
So began my sojourn with Mr. Palengke – first as his consultant, second as his chief-of-staff, and third, as communications director.
It was a good three years of Taco Bell meetings, weekly group huddles with my ever-reliable communications team and intense though sometimes funny but always relevant conversations with Mr. Palengke himself. As I now fold up my tent and proceed to start a new chapter in my life, let me share with you the lessons I’ve gained from working with and for Mar Roxas.
First Time, Last Time Rule
- As communications director, I would lay down messaging options and event scenarios for Senator Mar. Details matter a lot to him because of the First Time, Last Time rule. Under this rule, there is always that probability that this may be the first time and the last time that he’ll meet and speak before a particular crowd. Given that assumption, our message must resonate, connections must be made and harvested, and doors must be left open and a good first impression left behind. This can only happen when we make a conscious effort to think and plan an event as if it would really be our last.
By Design, Not Default
- To ensure optimal outcomes from a speaking engagement, we make sure that all efforts to succeed are done by design, not by default. This principle requires us to align events with advocacies and themes, and vice-versa. To rely on every bit of invitation that comes our way would be doing things by default. But creating events to promote certain advocacies – like a dialogue with barangay health workers on the cheaper medicines bill – would be doing things by design. Mar prefers that we create events and messaging opportunities by design, rather than as products of happy accidents.
Mark to Market
- I am a writer by design because I am allergic to numbers. Fractions are fragments that never become whole to me. Excel is the least used application in my Microsoft arsenal. When Mar starts talking numbers – taxes, kilos, budgets, pounds – I use my inner mouse to zoom in on his explanations before an alternative universe beckons.
- Mark to Market is a business principle that simply means, “Magpakatotoo ka.” An entrepreneur shouldn’t delude himself that his inventory is big when it’s just a sackful. Or that his profits will double at a time when people think twice before spending.
- Mar is a Mark to Market man. Magpakatotoo is his middle name. He is forthright and honest. He doesn’t mind not getting above competent results from a staffer unless that staffer pretends to be able to deliver such a service. As with a staffer, so with government. Government should not pretend to be what it is not, or say the things that we all know to be less than true or real.
Never Give Up the Long-term
- Never Give Up the Long-Term is simply that – to think long-term, rather than succumb to shortsighted decisions. A Mar Presidency would not think in terms of one-time dole-outs. It would have clear blueprints and workable solutions for each sector and in response to the country’s biggest concerns – education, health, food sufficiency, jobs, social welfare, justice, strong institutions and effective governance.
- Aiming for the highest office in 2010 is to not give up the long-term. In my conversations with him, I know that this is a man who has thought of little else but on how to change the country for the better.
I have learned so many other things from Mar as well. He taught me how to put a security lock on my phone – something that I quickly unlearned. He taught me how to “track changes”, use headers and footers, and to always start with logic flows before writing out a complete speech. Because of him, I learned to like – not love - but like Sylfaen (the prescribed office Font). I rode the MRT with him and listen to him ask a passenger whether she would prefer to be buried or cremated (long story, ask me about this some time.) Hopefully, I have taught him stuff as well – how to relax with members of media, a few Tagalog words and phrases, and passed on a few reminders about the political life that I gained from having worked for a long time with my father, the late Ka Blas Ople.
My professional work with Mar is done but our quirky adventure as friends continues. Next time he calls to ask me not to make any decisions in my life, I pray that it’s because the people have already decided what he should do with his. And if that call comes, then I hope he remembers to bring me a bigger sandwich.
About the Author Susan "Toots" Ople, youngest daughter of the late Foreign Affairs Secretary Blas F. Ople, is a columnist of Panorama Magazine and Tempo. She was formerly Labor Undersecretary and Undersecretary for the Office of Communications Director prior to working for Mar. Susan left the Office of Senator Mar Roxas to devote more time to the Blas F. Ople Policy Center. You can read more of her writings and columns at www.susanople.com. 
When will Mar Roxas find his true north?
He has no fire in his belly,no passion,no compassion for the masses.
His media presence is all about press relseases on issues.
Here’s the test:can you imagine him singing “The Impossible Dream”? or “Bayan Ko’ ?
I think he will be very careful first about the lyrics and worry about the image implications.
Sad.
I think he is still the best among the presidentiables.
@equalizer: I agree with you that Mar Roxas is still the best among the presidentiables. There are other points, however, where I have to disagree with you particularly on him having no passion and no compassion for the masses. Isn’t authoring and fighting for the Cheap Medicine Act a way of showing compassion for the masses? Isn’t continuing the fight of pre-need victims by filing The Pre-Need Code a way of showing sympathy with the masses who lost their hard earned money for the education of their children? Isn’t not pioneering and promoting business process outsourcing including call centers a way of showing how passionate he is in the desire to improve the lives of people and our economy?
I would prefer a simple and silent achiever like him a hundred times than those fiery street parliamentarians who are as good only as their rhetorics but achieve nothing tangible.
Mar is a great guy and always appears to be sincere.
I like the Cheaper Medicines Law. However, cheaper isn’t necessarily better and the Ponstan I got from Botika ng Bayan really burned my gut when I took it. Okay na rin siguro kung wala ka talagang pambili (after all, ganun talaga kapag mahirap ka) and perhaps the focus should be more on creating livelihood and jobs so that people can buy the better stuff.
Also, for a guy who is so vocal against VAT, Mar filed SB102 which is the People’s fund bill which proposes to allocate 30 percent of all VAT collected on education. He talks about removing VAT (is it all posturing?) para maka-ginhawa sa mga tao, pero iyon pala may nakikita rin pala siyang pakinabang sa VAT. What gives here? On one hand, he is saying that removing VAT will be good for the people and on the other hand, he is in the process of making a law that proposes where VAT will be spent.
Well, that’s fine either way. We all know that Gloria isn’t going to let go of VAT and BY DESIGN, at least nga, may si MAR proposing a specific use for VAT. Kaso nga lang, bakit hindi mas malaki ang apportionment ng VAT revenue for education? Bakit 30% lang? Siguro, dapat 50% para matapos na ang mga problema sa public education. In any case, like a smart man with a lot of money, he has covered all bets in this case.
Surely, education is a big deal for Mar and he actually made a law as congressman which fine tuned the budget of the DepEd yata. Then there was PCPS, where he and some Japanese organization gave away some 40,000 computers to public schools starting a year or two before he ran as Senator in 2004 under the ticket of Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. That was really great! Imagine, all those children having computers in their schools for the first time and apparently, their gratitude was voiced in the last elections when their parents and siblings voted for Mar — making him a senator with the highest number of votes.
Hooray for the Mar and the Japanese!
When he was still DTI Secretary, there were a number of occasions when the country was under crisis of one form or another and he had said something to suggest that he had talked to Japanese investors not to pull out. A few weeks ago, he talked about the Japanese stopping their import of Tuna because the toxic chemicals leaching and Endosulfan from MV Princess of the Stars. Takot yata ang mga hapon na malason. (Which is odd, considering that they eat whale meat which is known to have high levels of mercury.) Which brings me to the point of asking, what does the Japanese have to do with MAR? Parang ang close naman ng relationship nila at lagi yatang nakakausap si MAR.
No wonder, also that MAR is for JPEPA, too. Which, as he explains, may be a good thing for the country. We all know that JPEPA has a provision allowing the Japanese, among other things, to own land. What we hear or see less off is MAR’s view that it is okay for foreigners to be allowed to own land in the country — sabi nga niya dati eh, hindi naman nila mai-uuwi ang lupang binili nila. (HAHAHAHAHA!) Pero, remember the last time when we had foreigners owning land here (iyong mga Amerikano at mga bases nila), hindi ba maraming abuso na ginawa (hanggang ngayon, may toxic chemicals sa mga bases).
In any case and this is rather far fetched, Mar’s relations with the Japanese has roots going back to the forties. In Wikipedia, there is some reference to it: “(President Manuel) Roxas was captured (1942) by the Japanese invasion forces. After a period of imprisonment, he was brought to Manila and eventually signed the Constitution promulgated by the Japanese-sponsored Philippine Republic. ”
Well, anyway, ano nga pala ang track record na masasabi ni MAR that will show he is a good choice for President? Paki-lista naman. Maganda kung lahat ng Presidential candidate, ilista ang mga track record. Ano ba ang experience niya as an executive?
Ginobu Tanoshi, Mar is NOT against VAT. He is for the lifting of VAT on oil. Please verify your facts first before you comment and misinform the public.
And for the benefit of everybody, VAT or sales tax is the oldest form of taxation. Nearly all countries in the world have VAT in one form or another. To us it’s VAT, in other countries, it’s called another name, but the principle is the same. Mar knows this and, as a businessman (investment banker at that), he knows there’s no way around VAT. What he is suggesting is a temporary relief — that is, the lifting of the 12% VAT on oil and only on oil. Please do not equate that as being against VAT altogether because that’s far from the truth.
It’s people like you Ginobu that muddle the issues. If you only care to read and check your facts first before jumping into conclusions, this country would be better informed and elect public officials of Mar’s caliber. My guess is you voted for Chiz in the last election and what have you gotten in return? At his first opportunity to show his mettle against the powers that be, he folded. What he did at the Senate hearing on the purported car smuggling at Port Irene was laughable. Clearly, he wasn’t keen on taking on Sen. Enrile head on.
That’s what we get when we’re misinformed. We thought Chiz is that good because of the sound bites he dishes. What we didn’t know is that Sorsogon, the province he represented for 9 years in the House before moving to the Senate, was and continues to be one of the poorest in the country.
So, please, let’s check our facts first before we comment. Let us not misinform the public lest we elect more Chiz to positions in government. Educating the masa is one way of getting this country out of the muck. Let’s contribute to that by giving them correct information.
This is a good site to start verifying Mr. Palengke’s stand on VAT. This is by a hesitant blogger who attended the Mar meet-up recently, but came home convinced of the good Senator’s grasp of the issues. Please visit this site Mr. Ginobu so you will be well-informed. Thanks ;)
http://aboutmyrecovery.com/2008/08/02/senator-mar-roxas-new-media/
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Lexjurat,
Oh yeah right! MAR is for the temporary lifting of VAT, stupid of me. Not to offend you further, but the temporary lifting of VAT is typical of MAR which is to say that it is basically a non-position masquerading as a position that ultimately does nothing for no one except to score pogi points for MAR.
First, it won’t happen.
Second, if VAT is temporarily lifted, the next round of price increases will just wipe out the relief just given. What then? Which taxes get lifted temporarily next?
VAT or no VAT for six months or forever, the basic problem is that people are either unemployed or underemployed. Relief is good but the long term solution is pump priming and this is where the billions in VAT should be used.
Oh and also, it wouldn’t be too far fetched for a MAR and CHIZ team up for 2010.
Mar Roxas and Noynoy Aquino:Mar and Noynoy are two of the four Liberal senators in the upper chamber.This will bring together two of the most powerful political families together.This will be the “Old Political Guards”ticket or “De Buena Familia”.This team could be the only principle-based ticket in 2010.
Ginobu,
Calling for a 6-month suspension of VAT on oil is a categorical and unequivocal position taken by the good senator since last year when oil prices did not top $100 a barrel yet. That’s the most consistent position I have seen from any politician to date. Unlike those calling for the scrapping of VAT altogether, which is really ridiculous and shows the level of intelligence of those espousing it, Mar’s position is very logical and practicable.
Again, I implore you to check your facts because you are beginning to sound like you don’t know what you are talking about. Like this comment on “pump priming” the economy using the proceeds from VAT. First of all, what do you mean by that? Capital spending like building of roads, etc.? Using VAT for traditional pump-priming measures like construction of roads and bridges is not the solution at this time. The problem is not the lack of activity in the local economy that necessitates pump-priming; the problem is rising fuel and food prices experienced not just by us, but by the entire planet. What we are seeing right now is a worldwide food and oil crises, not a weakening of our local economy.
Suspending VAT on oil, in fact, creates the economic “stimulus” you are probably seeking when you mentioned “pump priming”. By Mar’s calculation, removing the 12% VAT on oil will instantly save P6 per liter of gas and P66 per LPG tank. That’s a considerable amount that will go a long way in helping our local economy. In what way, you might ask? These “savings” from oil will go back into the system in the form of consumption — like purchase of food, goods, or services. This in turn keeps factories open, workers paid, etc.
If you only open your mind Ginobu, you will even find Mar’s suggestion very clever. You see the government does not lose any centavo when it suspends VAT on oil because the money “saved” will go back to the government in another VAT on say, the Jollibee Chicken Joy you order or shampoo you use everyday. But the effect of suspending it will be felt immediately by the masa.
I won’t comment on your other question about “what tax to suspend next” because it is really laughable. I’m only obliging you to help you think more clearly. A well-informed citizenry will make better judgments.
On the Mar-Chiz tandem, I don’t see that happening because they are polars apart. Again, please research your facts. ;-)
Ginobu,
Please watch this video to understand Mar’s point. If I am not mistaken, this was broadcast sometime in July.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m_N4lxTqrc4
This is what I really mean by researching our facts. Thanks for indulging me. ;-)
Lexjurat,
And you should probably stick to lawyering (I am merely assuming you are a lawyer, of some sort).
“Suspending VAT on oil, in fact, creates the economic “stimulus” you are probably seeking when you mentioned “pump priming”. By Mar’s calculation, removing the 12% VAT on oil will instantly save P6 per liter of gas and P66 per LPG tank. That’s a considerable amount that will go a long way in helping our local economy. In what way, you might ask? These “savings” from oil will go back into the system in the form of consumption — like purchase of food, goods, or services. This in turn keeps factories open, workers paid, etc.”
That’s just trading one expense for another and in the process, just keeping businessmen rich. Unless you can prove that businessmen, especially big businessmen, really don’t care for profits. I remember Cito Lorenzo telling a story about the place he used to work in the States and it had a huge round ball made of stone. I think he referred to it as the ‘Banker’s heart’.
Your take on VAT pump priming is simply unimaginative. Roads construction? With all due respect, sir, did you take economics during the Marcos era or some period before that?
Hahaha… You’re a funny man, Ginubo. I always like it when people lose their cool and expose the porous ground on which their arguments stand. In law school, we’re taught to stick to the facts and resist every temptation to engage in a shouting contest. I don’t blame you Ginubo; apparently you’re not a lawyer.
So let’s hear it from you, who claims to be “imaginative” and well-versed in “modern” economic theories. Let’s recap your arguments and I hope you will answer them one by one. Who knows the good senator, a Wharton School of Economics alumnus, might be able to fine-tune his policies based on your proposals.
(1) You said in post #7 the proceeds from VAT should be use for “pump priming”. So, what exactly do you propose as pump-priming measures to solve the “unemployment/underemployment” problem using the billions from VAT?
(2) In post #11, you said suspending VAT on oil is “just trading one expense for another and in the process, just keeping businessmen rich. Unless you can prove that businessmen, especially big businessmen, really don’t care for profits.” Hehehe… I don’t exactly get it. What is it you’re trying to say again?
And, oh, you might wonder where I got that info about Mar’s Wharton education. Here’s the link — http://www.i-site.ph/Databases/Congress/13thSenate/personal/roxas-personal.html
By the way, Mar graduated from Wharton in 1979 — during the Marcos Era, I should underscore — and was an investment banker for 10 years before joining the government (http://www.liberalparty.ph/profiles/p_mroxas.htm). Not bad for somebody educated during those times. Unlike some of us here who love to claim, but don’t substantiate.
The ball’s on your court, Ginubo. Let’s hear it. ;-)