The Philippines' Three Kings: BBM, Migz, and Martin

Today should have been Three Kings Day. Since early childhood, I always knew that January 6 is the Day of the Three Kings: Melchor, Gaspar, and Balthazar. The Church has revised the ecclesiastical calendar and changed the Day of the Magi. Whatever it is, in the Philippine political scene, I consider the president, the Senate president and the speaker of the House as the three kings, plus the vice president as queen regent. There is a fourth king, the chief justice.

The order of succession is as follows: whatever happens to the president, the vice president takes over. Whatever happens thereafter, the next in line is the Senate president then the speaker of the House. There are extraordinary circumstances though. When Erap was declared to have vacated the presidency via "constructive resignation", Vice President GMA became president. She selected Senator Teofisto Guingona Jr. as vice president. Well, Guingona later turned against her and denounced GMA in his famous speech titled "I accuse", in connection with the "Hello Garci" hullabaloo, but that is a separate story.

Today's three kings in the Philippines are well-distributed in terms of geographical representation. BBM is from the solid north, Senate President Migz from the not-too-solid south and Speaker Martin from the sprawling Visayan seas sprinkled with islands. Each island has a different language, culture, and idiosyncrasies, starting from the kingdoms of the Warays up to the tribes of the Ilonggos and Hiligaynon clans of Negros and Panay. Panay was the original turf of the ten Bornean Datus led by Datu Puti, who purchased the island with a golden salakot. Thus, today's three kings are King Ferdinand from Batac, King Martin from Tacloban, and King Migz from Bukidnon, where some of the poorest lumads had been marginalized by giant fruit conglomerates.

King BBM, is the rising son of a powerful father, the unquestioned king of the solid north, comprising Ilocandia, the Cordilleras, the Sierra Madres, Cagayan Valley, the Central Plains of Luzon, down to the imperialistic Metro Manila, and the burgeoning suburbs of Southern Tagalog, up to the Bicolandia, and even extending to Mimaropa, that reaches the West Philippine Sea in the Palawan frontier, towards the Kalayaan Islands. The magic of King BBM is that he married an Araneta, whose roots are from Negros, heirs of the encomienderos and hacienderos. Like the magic formula of Apo Ferdie and Madam Meldy, Ilocano plus Bisaya equals Malacañang. Their fate is "Iginuhit ng Tadhana”, a mix of Marcos and Araneta is like the magic formula of Marcos and Romualdez, tried and tested.

King Martin Ferdinand Romualdez belongs to that powerful and influential family that controls Tacloban and Leyte, extending to Southern Leyte, and the islands of Biliran. And being one among the fierce Warays, he also reigns over Northern Samar, Eastern Samar, and Samar, the western side, where the original capital of Catbalogan is located. He is the son of Bejo, brother of the Imeldific, whose other brother (her favorite) was Kokoy, ambassador to US and governor of Leyte simultaneously (what are we in power for?), the father of Alfred, now mayor of Tacloban. Alfred is the husband of Kringkring, who also became mayor of that city. Whatever a Romualdez wants, a Romualdez gets.

By the way, the wife of King Martin is a beauty queen from Cebu, Yedda, granddaughter of ALU founder Democrito Mendoza. Yedda, like her husband, is a member of the House representing a Waray partylist, a Cebuana representing the Warays (what are we in power for?)

King Migz belongs to the landed gentry of the Zubiris, who were originally Ilonggos from Negros who migrated to Mindanao. Migz's father, the original kingpin, Jose Ma. Zubiri is a dyed-in-the wool trapo and haciendero. Migz is a presidential timber but his dreams should give way to a more famous Mindanaoan, Queen Inday Sara Zimmerman Duterte Carpio, the next president of the Philippines.

King BBM, King Martin, and King Migz are all looking to the Star of David, shining over the elections of 2028. According to the Oracle of Delphi, it is most likely Queen Inday for president and King Martin for vice president versus King Migz for president and Queen Cynthia from the Kingdom of Camella and Vista Land in tiny Las Piñas. Exciting and frightening years ahead. The clash of the titans, the battle of the dynasties, the war of the trapos. It will still be determined by gold, guns, and goons, not by gold, myrrh, and Frankenstein este, frankincense diay. Happy Three Kings to all.