When PBBM announced that Senator Imee was one of the 12 senatorial candidates of his Alyansa 2025, it wasn’t totally unexpected, kahit pa panay ang patutsada ng senadora sa maraming policies of the kapatid’s admin. Blood is thicker than water, after all? Except that Imee was a no-show at the convention, and the very next day, death anniv of Ferdinand Sr., she released a video thanking her bro, sabay announce that she chooses to run as an Independent.
35 na taon ng nakalipas ngayong araw mula nung pumanaw ang ama ko, ngunit buhay na buhay ang mga aral nya sa aking puso. Kaya’t bilang panganay niya, pinipili kong manindigan nang malaya’t matatag, tulad niya; na wala na dapat kampihan kundi ang Sambayanang Pilipino.”
https://www.facebook.com/ImeeMarcos/videos/523695270524068
Umm… Marcos was with the Liberal Party until 1964, with the Nacionalista Party during his presidencies 1965 – ’72, “independent” only during the dictatorship 1972 – ’86. But whatever. I imagine that Imee is playing to Marcos loyalists, even as Duterte’s Diehard Supporters (DDS) are demanding na ilaglag niya unequivocally si BBM. Otherwise daw it’s like she’s just namamangka sa dalawang ilog, which she denied in a press briefing with Senate reporters today. https://www.facebook.com/
I’m not sure that it’s not just more of the sibs playing good-cop-bad-cop to disarm us, even as their kids quietly follow in their footsteps. Lalo na’t hindi naman daw na-offend si BBM: welcome pa rin daw si Imee in case she wants to join the Alyansa’s sorties. https://www.tiktok.com/@newswatchplusph/video
Likewise this from Philstar‘s Cito Beltran gives Imee the benefit of the doubt.
Blood is thicker but venom is a killer
https://www.philstar.com/opinion/2024/09/30/2388918/blood-thicker-venom-killerAt face value, the inclusion of Senator Imee Marcos in the administration’s list of candidates may have seemed like a conciliatory gesture. It was certainly a surprise to people who have followed the political K-drama in Malacañang, where Senator Imee has been treated more as an outsider than presidential relative for at least a year if not more.
It’s tempting to call her inclusion as political window dressing to show that the Marcos Unity Team stands strong against all foes. To take it a step further, it was obviously an attempt to break the Imee-Sara alliance or friendship forged during Imee’s period of “destierro” and paint Imee as a “compromising politician” if she abandoned Sara Duterte.
But to her credit and lessons learned, Senator Imee stood her ground, politely thanked the administration for the inclusion and in the same breath declared her independence. That was a very polite “Thanks, but no thanks.”
It is often said that when it comes to family, “blood is thicker than water.” But judging from the many hits and hurts that Imee Marcos suffered from relatives and ex-friends, I surmise that Imee’s version is now: “Blood is thicker, but venom is more poisonous.”
With all her political experience and wisdom, Imee knows a possible set-up or booby trap come campaign and election time. If Senator Imee relies on her being a presidential sister and administration candidate, she could be left hanging in terms of funds and political support. Imee knows that more than anything, she is window dressing for the administration for many reasons.
But when the campaign and elections get really tough and close, favor will go to the candidates who bring something to the table apart from family ties and an independent mind. Many of those in the administration’s senatorial line-up represent a political party, a bailiwick, interest groups, funds or star power. With PBBM already President, Imee brings nothing else. The chances of her being dropped or “malaglag” are high and inevitable.
She has no guarantee that she will have the full support of the administration, particularly a Congress headed by Speaker Romualdez. Deny it as much as they want, but even their own friends and relatives swear that there is no love lost between them. Instead, it’s all distrust and distaste.
Declaring herself to be an “independent candidate” allows Imee to have her cake and eat it too. She can thumb her nose at those who cancelled her politically, show Filipinos the value of loyalty to those who stood by her during her political “exclusion” and prove to the Duterte supporters that she has courage as much as her friend Sara Duterte.
There is a popular post on social media that says: “Don’t stay where you are disrespected. Go where you are recognized.” If Senator Imee lives up to her independence, loyalty to friends and cause and continues to be tactical and strategic in her narrative and objectives, she may have more to offer to voters than the troublemakers or “Gawa Gulo” inside the administration.