A picture indeed can paint a thousand words, most especially if the personalities in it are Kristina Bernadette Aquino and the first couple, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and First Lady Marie Louise Araneta-Marcos.
Last Friday, the trio posed for posterity during the lunch held at the Malacañang Palace hosted by First Lady Liza for Aquino as a belated birthday celebration.
According to reports, the menu was that of home-cooked dishes by the First Lady and designer Michael Leyva, the person responsible for the fruition of the delightful event. As expected, the photos were all over social media and achieved viral status.
Thus, I cannot help but wonder, what are the reactions of the Pinklawans to this occasion? Collective jaws dropping paired with raised eyebrows, perhaps? How about the Marcos, Marcos pa rin loyalists, amused and filled with glee, maybe? And the DDS trolls, having a fiesta for they have new reasons to earn as they launch their online onslaught because of this happening?
Whatever are the answers to these questions, we can wait for it with bated breath and move on immediately because it's not that earth-shaking anyway or just let time do the replying to the many queries. One thing is certain — Kris is still an Aquino. She continues to be relevant and a societal force. And that there is nothing fundamentally wrong with her being at peace and sharing friendship with the Marcoses. It is a great topic for argumentation and debate.
All the world’s a stage
The very fictional encounter of Marcos and Aquino was in Bienvenido Noriega’s Bongbong at Kris; a satire staged in 1987 by Bulwagang Gantimpala (now Gantimpala Theater) at the Tanghalang Aurelio Tolentino of the Sentrong Pangkultura ng Pilipinas. Directed by Tony Espejo (+), it clocked 50 performances, with Ricky Davao (+) who played the titular character Bongbong and Tricia Amper as Kris.
The play then earned praise for its exploration of the complexities of Filipino politics and society through the fictionalized interactions of prominent public figures. Written as a satire after the 1986 EDSA Revolution, the Espejo-directed production delved into the nuances of power, public perception, a titillating possibility of love brewing between two warring houses.
One of the most interesting facts about the play, it was set on a near future 1991 timeline. In 1987, the Marcoses were exiled in Hawaii. Noriega prophesied their comeback to Philippine shores. In October 1991, Bongbong was the first of the Marcoses to return.
Love, actually
The first documented encounter of Aquino and Marcos was in January 1995. At the time, the Marcos scion was a congressman and was a host of Actually, Yun Na, which aired Monday evenings, 7 to 8 p.m. on RPN 9. It was in January of that year when the interview happened.
The most memorable topics in the telecast was when Aquino openly asked about the Marcos family time in exile, which Bongbong answered that the experience made their family close and that they had more time with their children. Kris quipped that when she was a child, she viewed the Marcoses as villains. She even said during the conversation with Bongbong then that: “It was as if you had horns on your head.” She acknowledged and understood that her father Benigno was in jail because of Ferdinand Sr., Bongbong’s father.
Showing his fine gentleman side, when Kris asked Bongbong if he hated the Aquino, the Marcos scion shook his head and smiled: “That’s life, you cannot do anything, just get on with it.”
The 1995 interview that happened between Kris and then Congressman Bongbong is regarded as one of the most remarkable moments in Philippine television history. The interaction between the heirs of two of the most prominent and warring families at that, was indeed epic and has become part of history. People remembered the conversation as lighthearted, even diplomatic in tone, given the facts and the realities of the matter.
Again, if we go back to Noriega’s Bongbong at Kris, the Aquino and Marcos interview, a classic case of real life imitating art, as William Shakespeare wrote in As You Like It, from Act 2, Scene 7: “All the world’s a stage,/And all the men and women, merely players."
New era
Since Ate Ballsy Aquino-Cruz, Pinky Aquino-Abellada and Viel Aquino-Dee, guard their privacy, whatever are their opinions about this lunch of their youngest sister with the first couple, we are respecting their silence about it. Kiko Aquino Dee, who has been forefront politically, whether he reacts or not to this, we understand his position on the matter. With regard to Imee Marcos perceiving this as something political, whatever is her perception, that is her choice since we are in a democracy.
Personally speaking, this shows a new era of kindness and emotional intelligence from both parties, which I truly appreciate. This is proof that healing happens, forgiveness is a process that does not transpire overnight, and that God works in mysterious and lovely ways. Everything happens at the right season, with the right reason.