Former presidential aspirant Mar Roxas enjoys the scenery as he goes on a “thank you” tour. PHOTO FROM ROXAS’ TWITTER ACCOUNT
We’ve seen him as a lawmaker, a Cabinet secretary and very recently, a presidential wannabe.
But Mar Roxas as a travel blogger?
The defeated presidential candidate seems to be enjoying his life out of politics as he embarks on a “thank you” tour. And accounts of his activities, the food he eats, and the people he meets in each of his stop go to his travel blog on Facebook and Twitter.
Known for his fondness for driving, the former Interior Secretary went on a road trip in the provinces of Oriental Mindoro, Aklan, and his hometown Capiz with his speech writer Yol Jamendang and his friends.
In one of his blog posts, Roxas said he went on a tour to thank his supporters who trusted him. He said he was also “exploring options as a travel blogger.”
LOOK: What Roxas did after conceding to Duterte
“Why am I doing this? Well, first of all, gusto ko talaga magpasalamat sa lahat ng nagtiwala sa akin. Secondly, I’m exploring options as a travel blogger, haha. Nu’ng kampanya, siksik at mabilisan ang schedule namin. Ngayon nae-enjoy ko na ang mga tanawin,” Roxas wrote.
(Why am I doing this? Well, first of all, I want to thank those who trusted me. Secondly, I’m exploring my options as a travel blogger. Ha, ha. If my schedule was packed during the campaign, now I get to just enjoy the sceneries.)
While in Oriental Mindoro, he visited Governor Alfonso Umali Jr., who is also the treasurer of the Liberal Party, and posted a photo of them together with the caption: “P.S. Nu’ng kampanya ‘di kami makainom ni Gov Umali. Ngayon puwede na ang beer (During the campaign, Gov. Umali and I couldn’t drink. Now we can have beer)!”
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SCREENGRAB FROM ROXAS’ TWITTER ACCOUNT
Roxas gave travel tips and notes like knowing when to use offline maps in areas where there are no mobile signals, shorter routes from Roxas to Oriental Mindoro, and the benefits of using makeshift “papag” cellphone charger.
SCREENGRAB FROM ROXAS’ TWITTER ACCOUNT
He also bragged about his simple “achievements” of successfully pairing his GoPro camera with his phone, making a photo collage and using the #nofilter hashtag.
SCREENGRAB FROM ROXAS’ TWITTER ACCOUNT
The 59-year-old investment banker-turned-politician often cracked “corny” jokes in his blogs and videos, which many of his supporters called the trademark “Tito Mar jokes.”
In his latest blog article, he thanked all those who were tweeting and commenting on his posts and even posted a drawing by a fan.
“Let’s not forget though that this is for you. I’m doing this trip, taking these photos, shaking your hands, hearing your stories, goofing around… so that I can show you how grateful I am for your support. Subaybayan niyo po ang aking pagpapasalamat sa inyong lahat ({Please follow my ‘thank you’ tour),” Roxas said.
The Liberal Party’s standard-bearer lost to President-elect Rodrigo Duterte, who garnered over 16 million votes against his 9,978,175 votes.IDL/rga
