YPS

The placing of Imelda Marcos as house chair of the MDG Committee may be a cruel joke for Human Rights in the Philippines, but its not a new one.

The first time joke was used was more than twenty years ago when the Imelda-Ferdie Marcos tag team went on a veritable twenty year crime spree and robbed the country blind of cash and dignity all while under the pretext of helping the country become a shining example of democracy and progress in a region known for communism and authoritarianism.

The punch line the first time the joke was used comes decades later in the knowledge that most of these war torn countries are now pulling far and away from the Philippines in both governance and economic success.

The second time the joke was used was when Imelda Marcos “ was appointed by her husband to various positions in the government, such as: Governor of Metropolitan Manila, Minister of Human Settlement, and Ambassador Plenipotentiary and Extraordinary”.

The punch line to this joke was that under the pretext of diplomatic work Imelda Marcos went on multimillion dollar shopping sprees all over the world and “To justify the multi-million expenditure of traveling with a large diplomatic entourage using private jets, she would later claim diplomatic successes that included securing of a cheap supply of oil from China and Libya, and in the signing of the Tripoli Agreement.”

As un funny as these Imelda based recycled jokes are it seems someone in Congress cant get enough of it.

Last week I was shocked to hear that Imelda, whose name is now the root of a word that means extravagance and whose husband’s reign personified the Philippine definition of human rights violations, is now the Committee Chairman for the MDGs.

But then again, someone’s high chance of failure due to historical incompetence has never been a hindrance to being appointed to a government position so as all old and bad jokes go, there are still a few chuckles from the peanut gallery. Status quo then.

Now, the truth of the matter is that it will be a stretch of the imagination that Congress, that has for the most part, ignored the MDG position for the last 10 years, will react any differently in the last, 5 year home stretch. So by this standard, some vengeful Congressman or politician may think its just adding additional insult to the deposed injury already felt by the delusional Imelda. I mean, placing her in a position where she is destined to fail…again…in a field which she claims to be an expert, may be seen as a fitting final act to draw the curtains on the self styled but failed champion of the poorest of the poor. That’s pretty funny right?

But in typical short sighted fashion the joke may fall on the other foot, the current administration’s foot to be exact.

On September of this year Noynoy Aquino will be invited to the United Nations “With only five years left until the 2015 deadline to achieve the Millennium Development Goals, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has called on world leaders to attend a summit in New York on 20-22 September to accelerate progress towards the MDGs”.

Various groups from Civil Society have been encouraging the travel shy PNoy into attending this conference and for the most part it looks like they’re succeeding. This is important not only for the image of PNoy as a President committed to everything opposite to GMA but also for the much needed funding potential that may come with our upcoming MDG fulfillment efforts, all done in typical pinoy style, last minute, mad dash for the finish line fashion.

But this is where the joke falls painfully on our toes.

Imagine the scenario where Fortune Kissed President NoyNoy Aquino, Son of Martyr for Democracy, Ninoy, and blessed Mother of Freedom, Cory, announcing to the rest of the hitherto known universe and all of mankind, that his partner in defeating poverty in the Philippines is Imelda “Many Shoes” Marcos.

Now I understand that for the purposes of politics, Noys team may have made a deal with the devil called Philippine politics to allow the Speaker of the House to hand out committee chairmanships as political party favors to keep the peace and help pass bills determined as critical to this administration. A two part deal if you will. Noy keeps his cabinet choices his while his Speaker does what he needs to do. Fair enough and a hand I might play myself.

But that this particular chairmanship was dealt to Imelda feels like a traitorous (more than simply an ill considered) move and more than a play for a strategic political stalemate in Congress. I mean of all the committees to be dealt as political favors Imelda could have been given any other position.

The choice of the MDG seat and its timing seems suspiciously like a political hit.

How so?

NoyNoy Aquino will be president for the entire duration of the last five years of MDG fulfillment. A proportionate leap in positive news particularly in the areas of eradication of hunger, universal primary education, and public health will be expected from his tenure. His potential for success and his sincerity will be determined not only by his policies but by the allies he chooses in this fight against poverty.

Now, can President Noy face the United Nations and hold Imelda tight by his side as his champion in Congress for the MDGs without looking like he has turned his back on the memory of his parents and spirit of his presidency?

Ba-dub-dub. Crash.

Not so funny anymore right?