Have you noticed the advertisements of Senator Mar Roxas that are being shown over television or aired over radio on primetime these past few weeks? In one ad, Mar zeroes in on his favorite advocacy?lowering the cost of drugs. As you may have known, he is the principal author of the Cheap Medicines Act which takes effect this year. In another ad, he speaks of the plight of holders of educational and other plans from bankrupt pre-need companies and offers to provide them with lawyers to help them recover their hard-earned money.

Obviously, a high-powered publicity or PR blitz is on full blast to boost Mar?s public image. Almost every morning, we hear him espouse his view on the current hot issues through live interviews by ace commentators in their radio programs. And on a daily basis, his media staff churns out at least two press releases for use by journalists covering the Senate. And not content with his exposure in newspaper stories, Mar now writes a regular column, called ?Mr. Palengke? in the widely circulated tabloid, Abante.

Mar has already made up his mind to run for president in the 2010 elections.  The elections are still about 15 months away, but he has already put up a campaign headquarters, converted from what used to be a seafood restaurant within the Araneta Center in Cubao, Quezon City. It is just a stone?s throw away from the residence of the fabulously wealthy Roxas-Araneta family.

His bid for the highest post of the land is moving full steam ahead; and what is lacking is only a formal declaration. He has the full backing of the leaders of the Liberal Party where he is the national president. Unlike in other political parties where the rivals for the presidential nomination are locked in an intense competition, the selection process in the LP is long over. As former Senate President Franklin Drilon, LP chairman, tells us, Mar is their uncontested bet for the presidency.

Compared to other presidential wannabes, Mar has exceptional leadership and intellectual qualities and his competence and experience in the sphere of governance are exemplary.  These are characteristics that the Filipinos saw in him that explain why he topped the 2004 senatorial derby.

But in the series of presidential preference surveys conducted by research outfits, why is Mar lagging behind his rivals?   It?s Vice President Noli de Castro, allied with Arroyo administration, who has been lording it over the surveys. In some polls, De Castro had been overtaken by former Senate President Manuel Villar (Nacionalista Party).  Senators Loren Legarda and Francis Escudero, both of the Nationalist People?s Coalition, are ranked second or third in the surveys. Mar has been relegated to the fourth or fifth slot and there were times when former President Joseph Estrada (Puwersa ng Masang Pilipino) and Senator Panfilo Lacson scored even higher than he did.

This is a phenomenon that, to be sure, has baffled and disappointed Mar.  His campaign tacticians must have analyzed endlessly what is wrong with their strategy, the aspects where they are weak and deficient in selling and projecting Mar as a presidential aspirant.

Is Mar destined to suffer a fate similar to that of the revered statesman and fellow Liberal, former Senate President Jovito Salonga, who topped three senatorial elections but fared badly in the 1992 presidential race? 

Mar, however, tells newsmen he is unfazed by his poor standing in the presidential ratings charts. He recalls that before he filed his certificate of candidacy in the 2004 senatorial contest, he was outside the pollsters? Magic 12. Still, he was able to catch up and eventually got the highest number of votes among the winners. This was made possible by saturating the TV and radio stations with Mar?s catchy ?Mr. Palengke? video and jingle.  Of course this came at the cost of a fortune.

No doubt, the ongoing media offensive is intended to give Mar?s candidacy a big push and have him pole-vaulted as the man to beat. Will their efforts do magic in promoting his candidacy and duplicating their success in 2004?

Of the stable of presidential hopefuls, Mar has taken upon himself the risky and daunting task of criticizing the perceived wrongdoings of the Arroyo administration. And this could not have escaped the attention of keen watchers of the political scene. When he spoke at the mammoth inter-faith rally on Ayala Avenue, Makati City a month ago, he didn?t even have any compunction in uttering some cuss words to pounce upon President Arroyo for allegedly laying the ground for a ?Gloria forever rule.?

In the midst of the scandal over the alleged rigging of World Bank-funded road construction projects.  Mar ranted that the ultimate responsibility for the alleged anomaly should be laid at the doorsteps of the Palace.  He also issued a scathing statement against the President upon the release of the Blue Ribbon committee report on the P728-million fertilizer fund scam.  He is vociferous; he minces no words in sniping at the Malaca?ang occupant whom he used to serve as secretary of trade and industry.

Certainly, the volley of verbal assaults that Mar has been unleashing against the administration is something that we have not heard from other presidential hopefuls. Even Mr. Estrada seems to have mellowed in taking potshots at the person who dislodged him from the Palace. And clearly, Mar is building up an image of himself as the lead fiscalizer of the Arroyo administration. Maybe he is even imitating the role that the late Senator Ninoy Aquino played so adeptly as a hard-hitting opposition stalwart and nemesis of the late dictator, President Ferdinand Marcos.

Lately Mar found himself at the receiving end of brickbats over his alleged penchant for cashing in on his senatorial post to advance his political ambition. He is spearheading the investigation into the collapse of the Legacy Group of Companies led by businessman Celso de los Angeles. He is convinced that the group has swindled thousands of buyers of pre-need plans and bank depositors through its double-your-money come-on which he dismissed as nothing more than an outlawed pyramiding scheme.  He urged the regulatory agencies to freeze and attach De los Angeles? personal assets to repay his company obligations to its clients and creditors. De los Angeles, who is identified with Vice President De Castro, retaliated by accusing Mar of taking advantage of the probe for partisan political purposes.

In return, Mar rebuked the Legacy Group founder for alleged resorting to squid tactics instead of taking the blame for the fall of his business empire that left plan holders and bank depositors holding an empty bag. Ironically, it was revealed that De los Angeles, incumbent mayor of Sto. Domingo, Albay, is a card-holding LP member and there was even a photo of him taking his oath as a party member.

However, Mar says he does not consider De los Angeles  a partymate. ?There is only one Liberal Party. And we stand as true Liberal for the truth, for an honest government and for fighting graft and corruption. Those with dark motives are banned from our party. He belongs to a group that pretends to be Liberals, turncoats who shift from one party to another, depending on where they can exact benefits.?