Veep

When you think about it, the Vice-President isn't really that great of a position in the government. I remember a book refer to Vice-Presidents as "the spare tires". They can be appointed to a position in cabinet so they won't be totally useless but that's about it. 

The real fun is when the President dies. Conspiracymongers think that if Bongbong Marcos wins as Vice-President, he'll arrange for the President to be killed and thus return the Marcos name into power. I don't know if he has the guts to do that. If Bongbong is next in line and the President does die, especially in a "hunting accident" or some really mysterious circumstance, all eyes are going to be on him. Whipping up resentment shouldn't be a problem then. The smart play would be to roll along as VP, get a lot of nice things done, improve your brand and once you convince enough people that you're harmless, make a shot at the big one. Right now, people seem to trust Marcos enough that he's number one in the VP polls. He probably knows that jumping into the Presidentials is biting off more than he can chew.

Isn't it funny, though? In the Philippines, your name is everything but if that were true, Marcos should be losing hard right now. Theoretically, if name is so important, then a bad name would drag you down as much as a good one can lift you up? Ah, but it is also said that Filipinos are a forgiving lot. Personally, I don't believe that. Filipinos don't end grudges but just hide them to be quickly brought out again later when things go sour. Maybe they feel sorry for Bongbong? He does seem pathetic in that he's saddled with the legacy of his father and the mean old bullies were ganging up on him during the debate. Possible, but as for me, I don't shed tears for the powerful.

People put too much thought in Game of Thrones.

Sons of the Revolution

I find it amusing that "Bongbong" Marcos is proving to be more intelligent that "Noynoy" Aquino. It's like the late Ferdinand Marcos' vengeance from beyond the grave. The late heroes' have messed up children while the dead dictator has a more competent one.

"Bongbong" is a silly nickname but I suppose you must do what you can to endear yourself to the unwashed masses. To be fair, "Ferdinand Marcos Jr." might not evoke the right feelings with the slower people. Nevertheless, he is not his father. I believe children should not be made to suffer for the sins of their father (or fathers if the case may be). 

I remember this one time when "Bongbong", I'll just call him Marcos Junior from now on or something, gave his speech during the trial of the former Chief Justice, I was actually impressed. He gave his reasons why he would not vote to impeach and said reasons were rooted in legal thinking, which was refreshing since the whole exercise seemed more and more an overdose of politics as usual.

Fate has a cruel sense of humor. The son of the hero is turning out to be the worst thing that's ever happened to us post-revolution. I'm not a big supporter of Junior but what if the savior of the Philippines turns out to be the son of the great villainous dictator?

I don't know whether to laugh or cry sometimes.