‘To thine own self be true’

I can count the times I have met or talked with Senator Imee Marcos on one hand, and a few fingers. But only in recent times have I had a chance to speak with her face to face, shields down.

The latest was during a lunch she hosted with several editors and columnists in print media, before that was dinner with Senator Imee and several of her associates who were hoping to make peace between Imee and PBBM.

That meeting proved to be pointless because Imee pointed out that there is no fight between PBBM and Manang Imee. They disagree on things, but the discord is caused by kamag-anaks. She was clearly outspoken, even borderline dismissive at times.

But what I thought as being dismissive was Imee simply not wanting to waste time on pointless chatter about family and political alliances. Her sarcasm may be veiled with a chuckle but always it would leave bite marks when she wanted to. As the saying goes, “She does not suffer fools gladly.”

For many people, Imee Marcos’ blunt, straightforward manner and speech comes across as rude, or perhaps insulting, especially when you read all the demolition PR against her. But then again, you know where you stand and what she thinks of you.

As the book of Proverbs teaches us: “Better is open rebuke than hidden love. Faithful are the wounds of a friend; but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful.” Proverbs 27: 5-7.

One of the terms she frequently utters is “Tama na ang plastikan” or putting up pretentions or being a hypocrite. Having grown up in the center of Philippine politics, Imee Marcos has clearly reached the point where brutal honesty gets more real results.

Unlike Malacañang and PBBM who have “the whole of government approach” in terms of communications and propaganda, Imee Marcos is and often has been a one woman show dealing with the attacks from the left, the right and from the fragmented elements of the dismantled UniTeam.

But good or bad, Imee Marcos has been more effective than all the PR and political tacticians and critics that have accused her of disloyalty, not doing enough, not going head-to-head with her brother or not standing up for the Duterte group.

She is clearly caught between a rock and a hard place or a “damned if you do/damned if you don’t” situation where “pride and power” is on one side while “hurt and utang na loob” throbs on the other. She gets attacked for being a Marcos as much as for being a grateful friend to the Dutertes.

In a way she has become the scapegoat for all, but even when people throw her under the bus, she always come out the other side and manages to expose the fakes and plastiks by giving them enough rope to hang themselves.

If you listen to her critics, not a few of them would say she is “so “Manang,” bossy, bullies government officials, some might even label her as “taklesa” or tactless.

I laugh when critics raise the “Manang” card on Imee without considering she is really the “Manang” or the Ate of the Marcos siblings. It is a title of responsibility whether you like it or not. It is part of being Filipino. As Manang, she is obligated to look after and protect her siblings.

But the sad fact is that PBBM obviously does not see it that way or appreciate it. Just because you become President or a billionaire, such ties and responsibilities stay up to the grave for Manangs and Kuyangs.

Sadly the “Divisionaries” (as Imee calls them) among relatives, in-laws and the Palace who created discord and division succeeded to malign and distance Manang Imee from Bongbong.

When asked if she failed to protect her brother from the lies and intrigues, Imee Marcos gravely responded: “I have completely failed, haven’t I?” Who now can save PBBM from himself?

Cutting off Imee from his personal and political circle by publicly dropping her from the administration slate was a mortal sin against supporters, Filipino family values and equivalent to throwing away valuable political insurance for the future.

Blood may be thicker than water but the very public rejection of your Ate is untenable politically and culturally. If you can drop or turn on your own flesh and blood, who is safe? What happened to Rodrigo Duterte is absolute proof of this administration’s impunity.

Others say that Imee is not diplomatic or politically correct when dealing with or addressing government officials, etc. What’s interesting is that many who say this are men. From the looks of it, much of the criticism is also fueled by gender bias.

Perhaps there is even some envy of sorts among men who don’t have the nerve to be direct or intellectually honest about their opinions and instead label their “wimpiness” as political correctness.

In the words of Senator/Tita Miriam Defensor-Santiago, women are simply more intellectually honest! Tita Miriam was written off as “may tililing” or mentally off. But to this day, many young people still post her comments and insights at the Senate and public forums.

Back in the time of then president Gloria Arroyo, she would be labeled by the Malacañang reporters as being “Bratinela” every time she threw a fit at the incompetence or stupidity of some government official. Vice President Sara Duterte is similarly situated and treated for being transparent and unrepentant with her criticisms of people competing for power.

There is a lesson to be learned indeed. From Hamlet, the work of Shakespeare, comes lines of wisdom: “This above all: to thine own self be true, And it must follow, as the night the day, Thou canst not then be false to any man.”

*      *      *

E-mail: utalk2ctalk@gmail.com