Miriam disappoints

FEISTY Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago was a disappointment when she decided to team up with Sen. Bongbong Marcos, son and namesake of the disgraced Philippine dictator.

The initial explanation about “crossing lines” and what this suggests about a practical arrangement to win votes would have washed. After all, Bongbong still boasts of the so-called “Solid North” and is likely to get the INC vote.

But Miriam proceeded to mouth familiar talk points of online pro-Marcos trolls. Why hold the son responsible for the sins of the father? Let’s move on, she said.

Wha? Though the son benefited through the decades from the amazing wealth the dictator stashed abroad, has Bongbong ever acknowledged any of the father’s sins? Instead, the son’s loyalists now brazenly twist history and proclaim the father was the best thing that happened to the Philippines.

The son even goes about his business as if the father has not wronged the Filipino people. Marcos loyalists are saying the son’s eventual return to Malacañang vindicates the father. Loyalists who are now supporting Bongbong claim we never had it so good economically during the Marcos years. They get angry when you point out what really happened: The Philippine economy was next to Japan when Marcos became president in 1965. We were derided as the “sick man of Asia” when Marcos fled in 1986.

With the lies and twisted historical narrative Marcos loyalists are peddling, should moving on mean support for Bongbong now?

With the grave sins the father wrought on the Filipinos people, moving on at the very least means ensuring that never again should a Marcos return to Malacañang, not even as vice president. Moving on means denying a Marcos son the opportunity to falsely claim vindication.

On top of this, moving on means putting in place reforms that make those evils during the dark years of the Marcos dictatorship things of the past. For instance, we still need to eliminate the culture of violence and impunity that breed human rights abuses, political killings, salvaging, even disappearances of dissidents. We still have to restructure our political system that spawns political dynasties.

Yes, for one who lived through those harrowing years, moving on means a lot of things, but never support for a Marcos candidacy.

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A few weeks ago, I thought I would spew these words at Vice President Jojo Binay because he tried to team up with Senator Marcos. I thought the anti-dictatorship stalwart who marched with Cory Aquino would turn his back on the legacy of Edsa.

By crunch time, Binay got Sen. Gringo Honasan as his running mate.

I don’t know if Honasan could uplift Binay’s ratings now, considering that the vice president remains evasive of the allegations of corruption hurled at himself and his family.

But Honasan is a good choice. He was instrumental in the military mutiny that triggered Edsa 1. The four-day people power uprising was the last blow that brought down the Marcos dictatorship.

I even find him a better choice compared to Sen. Chiz Escudero who after several years as congressman and senator, his bailiwick Sorsogon remains a second-class province.

On second thought, Senator Escudero has two significant achievements. One, his Noy-Bi campaign succeeded in 2010. He was partly responsible for splitting the pro-Noynoy votes that got Binay elected. Two, he has an articulate mouth that won Heart Evangelista. But then, are these qualities worthy of the vice presidency? Her choice of Escudero as running mate even makes me question the presidential qualities of Sen. Grace Poe.

In a way, Sec. Mar Roxas has been much criticized for a number of things. However, no one can question the sterling qualities of Cong. Leni Robredo, his choice of a running mate. Robredo’s presence reinforces Mar’s matuwid na daan agenda.

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We are familiar with Mayor Mike Rama’s penchant to beat the bush. He also likes to end his talks with a song or two. We read about how he made public school teachers and his barangay leaders roll on the floor. I also saw FB photos of Mike sitting on the floor during meetings or taking off his shirt.

But what happened last Friday made my day. After Team Rama heard Holy Mass at the Cebu Metropolitan Cathedral, they walked kapit-bisig style to the Comelec office. Along the way, a fire truck sprayed water on the assembly at the corner of Burgos and Legaspi Streets.

“You have to remember, water is life. Water means blessing,” Mayor Rama said.

Was he not content with the blessings during the Holy Mass? Mas nisalig siya sa tubig sa bombero? Naniguro lang?

Yes, for one who lived through those harrowing years, moving on means a lot of things, but never support for a Marcos candidacy.