Now Showing: Political Divas

With reverence akin to watching a Claudine Baretto-Piolo Pascual soap opera, people hungrily tune in the evening news to hear the latest in Philippine politics. Only in the Philippines will you find politicians who entertain (they are a lot of showbiz personalities who are put into power, after all) better than they legislate. I personally handpicked my favorite political divas who never fail to catch my attention.

Imelda Marcos

Who doesn’t know Madame and her Manolos? A documentary about Imelda showed everything from her and Ferdinand Marcos’ rise to power (they were considered a “love team” then, an image the public adored), their eventual downfall, and of course, a showcase of her extravagance. The funniest parts were when she discussed her philosophical mumbo-jumbo, scribbling away on a sketchpad with a marker. It was so incoherent and out-of-this-world that I couldn’t stop giggling.

I haven’t seen her much lately though, any news?

Loren Legarda

No non-sense from this one. She is an excellent journalist (and was a cum laude graduate of UP) who once anchored The World Tonight and hosted the acclaimed The Inside Story. Loren has always been active in office with her Anti-Domestic Violence Act, Ecological Solid Waste Management Law, Humanitarian and Peace Commission, and the Luntiang Pilipinas program.

Human rights advocate, environmentalist, senator, journalist, and mother. What doesn’t she bring to the table?

Tessie Aquino-Oreta

On the opposite side of the spectrum, we have the notorious Dancing Queen. She earned the nickname after doing a disgraceful “cheerleader routine” during Estrada’s impeachment trial. An act that would immortalize her, as the videos were shown over and over, and later became an essential part of every skit on TV that time.

She tried unsuccessfully to redeem herself by doing a 30-second waste-of-time political ad where she did a Gloria, and apologized for her behavior. Mind you, it was unlike Madam President’s flat “I am sorry”, but a rather lengthy one, complete with emotions, teary eyes, and a quivering voice. ..”Nasaktan ko kayo..” she says, with the intensity of Meryl Streep.

And the Oscar goes to..

Miriam Defensor-Santiago

Miriam is my favorite. She’s kooky and outspoken and never fails to make me grin from ear to ear. My favorite line from Ma’am is “I will jump headfirst from a helicopter in Luneta if Estrada gets removed from power.” Days later, Estrada gets the boot via People Power 2 (hah! I will never forget going to Edsa with friends chanting “Erap Resign!” on top of our lungs) and she recants with “I lied.”, then laughs maniacally at the camera.

Always the spitfire, she has something to say about everything and about everyone. I’ll certainly be waiting here like a devoted Flordeluna fan for new episodes starring these ladies.