The Great Reboot

Marcos Jr.: The great rebranding?

Richard Heydarian just wet his pants over BBM’s working visit to the US. Why? The President just made it clear that his inclination when it comes to his version of an independent foreign policy is walking the fine line between China and the US.

Marcos took a page from his father’s playbook with his statesman-like performance during his week in New York. In contrast to Duterte, who vowed never to visit the US, Marcos made it his first stop.

He made his debut at the UN General Assembly and engaged in a one-on-one with former Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd at the Asia Society. He gave an exclusive one-on-one interview with the Associated Press. He met with Joe Biden who, as usual, was reading from a note card.

The Ilokanong-Iranian is orgasmic over the fact that it would appear that Marcos is leaning more to the US which makes the job of the opposition easier and means more money coming into the coffers of their NGOs in the form of grant money. It also enhances the credibility of Heydarian since he’s the go-to resource person of foreign media outlets on the subject of Philippine politics.

Marcos made it clear though, that he isn’t throwing Duterte to the wolves at the ICC. This is what the opposition wants to get back at Duterte for the “20,000” drug war deaths they claim happened under his watch.

At the same time, the opposition hasn’t given Marcos a pass yet. They continue to be trivial and nitpick at whatever issue they can contrive to embarass him but they don’t get anywhere because they only end up sounding like lunatics who escaped from the supervision of Nurse Ratched.

While Marcos has charisma which makes him appealing to the masses, there is that marked difference between him and Duterte as the latter didn’t enjoy the pomp and pageantry of the Presidency, which Marcos does.

Duterte did away with being introduced or addressed as His Excellency and the commanding general of the Philippine Air Force didn’t bother to suck up and escort the president’s aircraft when flying off from or returning to the country. Not even the US President is accorded this pageantry. About the only time Air Force One was escorted by fighter aircraft in US airspace was in the immediate aftermath of 9/11. At a time when money is tight, the government shoudn’t be spending on such frivolities.

Marcos musn’t forget that it was Duterte which paved the way for his Presidency. The 31M who voted for him, voted for continuity. It was also the Filipino’s way of repudiating the claim of the opposition that they weren’t satisfied of Duterte’s performance.

Speaking of which, Duterte finished his term with a +81 net satisfaction rating in a survey conducted by SWS. This was the highest among post-Marcos President’s.

Marcos has very big shoes to fill and should be more conscious of the average Filipino’s plight. For sure, there is truth to Imelda’s adage that Filipinos need someone to admire or aspire to be, but in these difficult times of uncertainty and economic hardship, it’s wise to be sensitive to the sensibilities of the public in general.

As Spaniards would say, cuidado Senor Presidente.