Tit 4 tat

Senator Mark Villar has done it --he has shifted allegiances from the Duterte bloc and bedded with the majority.

Or perhaps we should say: the president and his men have done it: they have managed to turn yet another enemy into an ally. As predicted, the inexorable pressure exerted on those who oppose the prez is working, and he has managed to convince them to flip his way.

Like with any tit, we have to wonder what the tat was. The Rappler news organization trumpeted that a mere few hours after Mark’s backflip into the arms of the majority, three of the Villar companies finally filed their long-delayed financial statements. Is it the assumption those financials will be left alone to crumble into meaningless dust?

The other news of note was that the chairmanship of the powerful Senate committee on Public Works, a hot potato because of the public infrastructure scandals, was handed over to Villar. That seem like a great incentive to bolt from the minority although, the best incentive would be, and we have to watch out for this, if the announced SEC and Ombudsman investigations into their corporate affairs were to evaporate.

That leaves us wondering why the Villar family allowed precious daughter Camille to stay with the minority. Do we really believe that she has enough spine to decide for herself? Enough conviction that the minority represents the best viewpoints for the country? Enough analysis to come to the reasoned conclusion, being the Ateneo and IESE MBA graduate that she is, that the Duterte bloc is her safe harbor?

Or perhaps Mark was the most vulnerable target for the majority, and so he had to jump into their arms and leave little sister behind, where at least, she could stay in the good graces of the Duterte (and get some good intel as well). This tit stays and that tat goes.

Now we have almost 16 votes to convict the vice president in her ongoing impeachment proceedings. If Senator Loren Legarda, currently on medical leave from her political troubles, joins the majority, the writing will be in stark crimson paint on the walls, there for the veep to read.

Some soul-searching necessary. Where did things go all wrong? If we have to point the finger, since we love pointing, this is all her fault.

From the beginning, Sara should have listened to her father when she was being urged to run for president, and not slide down to just being running mate for candidate BBM. She made a political gamble, and now her father is paying the price in The Hague. Does he blame her from the comforts of his jail cell?

Or we can point our finger to when she was already ensconced in the administration and given a Cabinet post. She could have kept her head down and rode out the entire six years. No losing of tempers, no ill-grace with the budget allocations where she may not have gotten her desired slice of the pie, no dramatic outbursts. If her aides were being harassed, she should have kept her peace, à la Senator Enrile. If she had kept a meek demeanor and smiled through her gritted teeth, she would have emerged as a supremely viable candidate for the presidency.

Instead, she goes on a viral rampage, with assassination threats and constant press conferences pitting herself against the Marcos family. What did she think she was doing? Did she think she was powerful enough to cow all those powerful men? Did she think her Bar exam results made her a match for these highly-educated and sophisticated gangsters? Her tit is now receiving all the possible tat that all the crafty men and women in the Marcos camp can dream of.

There is no other recourse but for this administration to crucify her. Otherwise, they know that if she ever wins the presidency and holds the reins of power, that’s a huge tit coming their way.