MetroVanIndependent.com
October 2015
7
Opinion
Sibling Rivalry Rears its Ugly Head
By Joseph G. Lariosa
CHICAGO – Sen. Grace Poe, it seems, is
becoming more and more of a Cinderella
than Icarus. And it buoys her up in the
surveys sweepstakes.
Students of literature remember the
Greek mythology about Icarus, the son of
master craftsman Daedalus, who created
wings for him to escape from Crete, a big
Greek island. Daedalus warned Icarus first
of complacency and hubris, by asking him
that he fly neither too low nor too high, so
the sea's dampness would not clog his
wings or the sun's heat melt them. Icarus
ignored his father's instructions not to fly
too close to the sun, whereupon the wax
in his wings melted and he fell into the sea.
When actress Sheryl Cruz, discouraged
her cousin, Senator Poe, from running for
president, Ms. Cruz was like Daedalus,
telling her cousin not fly too close to the
sun or she might end up having a nightmare
instead of living a dream.
Actually, Ms. Poe’s foray on an
unchartered territory is a win-win for her.
If she loses, it is still a win for her because
aside from engaging the Filipino voters
during her national campaign, she could
just return to her senate seat. That is, if she
is not disqualified due to her citizenship.
In hindsight, Sheryl’s unsolicited
advice was well meaning. But it sent an
unintended, if not surreal, message that
portrayed Sheryl as a jealous Big sister
like Cain was to younger Abel.
Indeed, Ms. Cruz could even be
mistaken for one of Cinderella’s wicked
stepsisters, who deprived Cinderella of
trying on the glass slipper she left behind
while escaping from the Prince as the clock
struck midnight.
Ms. Cruz’s very public admonition
even painted herself as a natural sister
and fueled rumors that Grace was the
daughter of the late dictator (President
Marcos) by their common mother, former
matinee idol Rosemarie Sonora. And that
Sheryl’s admonition was not coming from a
step cousin but from a blood sister whose
feelings border a natural fit of jealousy that
drives sibling rivalry.
And how will Senator Ferdinand
“Bongbong” Marcos, Jr. make a decision
on his 2016 presidential elections plans,
knowing that he could be up head-tohead against the ticket of his half-sister,
Sen. Grace Poe? Will Bong2, out of his
filial affection, if not, as a knight in shining
armor, be ready to rescue a lady in distress
by volunteering his DNA samples to
Senator Poe’s to end once and for all the
malicious rumor, which could also end her
agonizing search for a long-lost biological
father? I wonder.
CAN SENATOR POE
HANDLE THE TRUTH?
As in my previous column, I didn’t
fault Senator Poe if she were a Marcos’
daughter because it was never her fault to
be in her shoes in the first place. But I just
wanted to find out if the good Senator is
ready to handle and face the truth squarely,
no matter how embarrassing it might be.
As president, Ms. Poe would be a fair game
because anything associated to her could
affect her decision-making process.
As a keen student of political science,
Sen. Poe knows that transparency and full
disclosure are