The 28-page comic book, Sa Gitna ng Unos (In the Middle of the Storm), was intended to chornicle the life and achievements of Liberal Party (LP) bet Mar Roxas. It was reportedly distributed for the first time during the birthday party of Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) Chairman Erineo “Ayong” Maliksi in Cavite on Sun, Mar 27. President Noynoy Aquino and other LP stalwarts were at the event.
As we mentioned, the problem with the comic book is, to begin with, its cover. It portrays Roxas as a savior at the height of the Typhoon Yolanda tragedy. This is not necessarily how everyone views him. Roxas was serving as Department of Interior of Local Government (DILG) Secretary when Yolanda struck in Nov 2013.
“The 28-page comic book detailed the progress of Roxas’ political career, from the time he was elected as the district representative of Capiz, until he became a senator, and a Cabinet secretary. It ended with his endorsement by Aquino as the administration’s presidential candidate,” reports GMA News Online on the contents of the comic book.
Again, whose insane idea was it to go for a Yolanda-themed cover?
READ: Whaddya think of the Mar Roxas comic book cover?
Akbayan party-list Rep. Barry Gutierrez, the spokesman for Mar Roxas’ Liberal Party (LP)-led coalition, is saying “supporters” are responsible for the comic book.
Gutierrez explained in a statement, “Ang comics ay gawa ng mga supporters na gustong ipaalam sa ating mga kababayan ang ginawa ni Mar sa Yolanda. Ginawa ito dahil sa patuloy na pagkalat ng kasinungalingan tungkol sa kanyang mga nagawa (The comic book was done because supporters wanted to set the record straight on what Mar did when Typhoon Yolanda struck. They felt that it had to be done because there have been those who continue to lie about what happened and accuse him of not doing anything).”
Gutierrez then emphasized that they are standing by the assessment that Roxas did a great job in the rescue, recovery, and rehabilitation activities in the wake of Typhoon Yolanda. Gutierrez pointed out, “Bilang comics, natural na may dramatisasyon ito. Matagal nang nailahad ang katotohanan tungkol sa mga nagawa ni Mar sa Yolanda. Malinaw ang record niya dito, at pinaninindigan namin ito (It’s natural for the comic book to feature dramatizations of what happened. It’s long been known that Mar did a lot in Yolanda operations. His record is clear and we stand by it).”
