The chosen

Now that the Marcos family’s recognized successor, ex-speaker of the House Martin Romualdez, seems to have been knocked out of presidential contention due to accusations that have linked him to the massive corruption scandal, with the surveys showing his numbers to be dismally dismaying, the analysts and armchair columnists have written finis to his ambitions and started speculating.

The next burning question is: who’s going to be the chosen one? Who will be hand-picked to raise the banner and protect the family’s fortunes? With the Duterte family out for revenge, giving up the throne to any member of that vengeful clan will be tantamount to political (and most probably financial) suicide.

Of course, not the sister, who has made it very clear she wants to continue sleeping in the arms of the enemy. Not the son, who is too young, and rumor has it, has been associating too closely with the uncle and enjoying the largesse that came with his territory. Will it suddenly become the wife, who has been credited as being the strategic genius behind the throne?

But all these speculations, however, ignore the constant grumbling against political dynasties. Why must the Marcos family’s political longevity, especially given the track record of the members, be of any further concern? Let the dynasty stop being dynastic, and maybe, after a couple of election cycles, a fresh-faced representative from that clan can then come forward and plead his or her case to the electorate. Take a rest, please.

Meanwhile, the next best thing for the Marcosians is to look for a winning candidate who will shield them from the Dutertes. Then, they can throw the full weight of their vaunted support behind that anointed one. Cash, machinery, goons, everything.

If our national pie is divided into thirds, with a slice each going to the Dutertes and the Marcoses, then wouldn’t the natural solution be to wave the white flag and parley with the other third?

But practically, that would mean olive branches, nay, entire olive plantations, waved at Leni Robredo, now happily serving as Mayor of Naga City.

Would Marcos willingly swallow all the bitter pills he faced as a result of his excruciating loss in the vice presidency two elections ago? And not just an election loss. Despite his considerable influence, his electoral protest against her was dismissed by the Supreme Court electoral tribunal, thereby ensuring a second, resounding loss. Has his win in the presidential arena sufficed to salve those particular wounds?

Robredo has thrown major shade his way too. She has been vocal about recovering the Marcos wealth, and critical about his chronic absenteeism when he was still a sitting senator. With all of that slung his way, will he able to shrug all of those barbs away, and fake a smile?

Well, survival is at stake. After getting a chance to redeem the Marcos name and brainwash an entirely new generation, and steering a safe course these three or so years, Marcos Jr. is now facing an entirely different challenge. All that hard work, glad-handing, and marquee polishing seems just a wee bit imperiled.

Perhaps, the persistent and quite credible rumors of a planned coup d’etat might provide impetus to a decision to swallow some pride. Some say that were it not for the unpalatable but very Constitutional successor (Sara without an “h”) being pushed by the coup plotters, we might very well have woken up to a new government last September 22.

Are all these blood-curdling rumors inducing sweat in the Jr.? Is he taking proactive steps to address these threats? Time is ticking. More protests are coming. Rains keep falling. Floods keep reminding the populace that their taxpayers’ money went to the wrong pockets. Tick tock.

But then again, will Leni Robredo even deign to entertain any overtures from his camp? Will the terms of the proposal be enough to sway her? Is the threat of a return to power by the Dutertes sufficiently horrifying to light a fire under her?

Hurry up please. I don’t have all day to wonder whether another horrible half a decade (and more!) is in the offing. Choose already.