by ALEX P. VIDAL
“Clever and attractive women do not want to vote; they are willing to let men govern as long as they govern men.” George Bernard Shaw
Comedian Ai Ai De las Alas may have dislodged Grace Poe in the No. 1 spot had she ran in the senate and her marital troubles started to go viral in Youtube before the May 13 midterm elections.
It’s easy to capture the people’s--or the electorate’s-- imagination in a country where soap opera is part and parcel of daily existence. Showbiz characters--villains, comedians, or lead actresses and actors--are shoo-in in any elections owing to their edge in name recall and popularity in an electoral system beset by loopholes and glitches (that’s why it’s imperative that there should be a charter change to correct these defects).
When Ai Ai shed tears before national TV, the bakya crowd that constitutes the majority in any electoral exercise, cried with her. A damsel in distress; a “dedicated” wife who lost a husband after a short-lived honeymoon; a popular and award-winning actress who became instant underdog after a break-up, after a much-ballyhooed albeit brief liaison with a non-showbiz partner ended in tailspin.
A crying lady in the Philippines always generates instant sympathy and empathy regardless of the cause of her misery. Tears are the most effective weapon to ensnare emotional support and collect widespread attention.
MELODRAMA
The night Ai Ai unloaded her marital woes in a melodramatic fashion, her popularity as well as the rating of the TV network that televised her predicament reportedly soared in Metro Manila alone. A groundswell of support poured for the “baba ng bayan” or “national chin.” Those support could translate into votes if Ai Ai was running for any public office and the episode occurred weeks before the elections.
Ai Ai’s partner, Kris Aquino, could be our next vice president or even president! The possibility of Senators-elect Nancy Binay, Grace Po and Jinky Pacquiao, who is now vice governor, shooting for the higher positions in 2016 up isn’t far-fetch. The fact that they are now in the big league after securing their mandates already made them strong contenders in a would-be battle of women celebrities in as far as future national elections are concerned.
It’s not hard to describe a woman, her desires and motives. In his poem, Robert A. Johnson, author of” She: Understanding Feminine Psychology,” describes her in her most vulnerable and strongest positions:
SHE
She wants with whole heart to escape from the fear. Her hands hide her face, but can’t hide the tears. On the outside she’s sure that no one else knows. Inside, her heart is in conflict with her soul.
She could call out for help, but what will she say? That he’s under a lot of pressure and he relieves it this way? He apologized again, but that’s rather cliché’. Her bruises will heal, but there are more on the way. She tries to comprehend, there’s no way she could know. Something inside says she deserves every blow.
‘He’s just misunderstood’ is what she persists. She sees good in him that doesn’t exist. And try as she may, she just can’t understand. Why she loves so hard with her heart, and he, with his hands. Looking back, she can’t recall ever feeling so sad.
The days when the good times outweighed the bad. Now there are cuts over the scars that cover bruises in layers. And scuffs on her knees.....but those are from prayers. /MP
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