The presidential sister’s back got burned in the “just-before-noon heat” as she accompanied the spouses of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation leaders on a historical tour at Fort Santiago Thursday.
She was so affected by this development that she asked her son to take a picture of her back while inside the bathroom and then posted it on Instagram, with a caption that betrays not only her logorrhea but her ruling-class mentality—something she shares with her brother.
One has got to sympathize with Ms. Aquino, who believes karma has caught up with her for her vanity. The vanity is wearing a laced designer Filipiniana dress that precisely exposed her upper back. Sunburn was her comeuppance.
The event was so tragic that Ms. Aquino had the gall to say: “Quits na tayo sa lahat ng nahirapan mag commute these past few days, patas ang mundo, patche patche naman ang balat ko. (To all those who had difficulty commuting these past few days, we’re on the same footing. The world is fair. My skin is uneven.)”
Poor, poor woman.
We are not surprised to hear about her tragedy and her view that her pain entitles her to some kindredness with the masses. Recall how her brother said the same thing to the widows and orphans of the 44 members of the Special Action Force slain in Mamasapano, Maguindanao in January. President Aquino, in talking to the grieving family members, said they were the same. Their loved ones died. His father was also killed. They’re even.
Of course, the death of a loved one is always difficult. In the case of the SAF troopers, however, their own government practically sent them on an errand to meet their end. They died in the line of duty, pursuing terrorists, but were not given reinforcements at the crucial hour. That the pain of loss and betrayal was fresh at that time Mr. Aquino talked about his own loss as he seemed to make light of theirs made the whole exchange ignominious.
That the Aquino siblings appear to believe that their own tragedies enable them to understand the pain of many Filipinos is our tragedy. Born and bred as landowners, dealing with hired help to get by, the Aquinos, like many members of the upper crust, believe that they are a notch above everybody else, conveniently dismissing the truth that all this happened through sheer accident of birth.
This essential disconnect renders them incapable of putting themselves in others’ shoes beyond posturing.
We wonder what the sister might say on social media if she were to visit the poor communities of Payatas, as the wife of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe did. Then again, we don’t think we want to go in there. It suffices that we know we’ve been burned by the promise of this family which keeps telling the people they are the boss while being imperious and condescending.