Two exes get taken down a peg

Curious, because of its lack of detail but inclusion of telling gestures:

THE LONG VIEW

Party-List Coalition

Sometimes a picture is worth a few dozen words. When a photo of presidents Biden and Marcos Jr. in the White House cabinet room was released, the more protocol-aware were surprised by the seating arrangements on the Philippine side. Flanking President Marcos Jr. were Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez (to his left) and Senior Deputy Speaker (to his right), Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. To Arroyo’s right was Foreign Secretary Enrique Manalo, and to the Speaker’s left was Jose Manuel Romualdez, the President’s man in Washington. What caused a double-take from seasoned observers was that the correct positioning would have been to have Ambassador Romualdez seated beside the President since he is the chief executive’s alter ego in the United States, and then Manalo beside the ambassador. The Speaker for his part ought to have been on the other side of the President and then Arroyo, who was merely Romualdez’s deputy, could have been placed beside the Speaker. As a former president, Arroyo might be entitled to some courtesies but as a sitting congresswoman her current position trumps her previous distinctions, particularly during working visits abroad.

The protestations of both tells us that whatever their motivations, their political movement is limited by their maintaining public support for the President.

Another take is by Vishwa Nathan writing in the Asia Sentinel. A long extract, in two parts.

The first extract, on the bone(s) of contention between the President and his immediate predecessor:

The second is the problem that is another predecessor -and the President’s plans to anoint a successor:

This is different and more domestically-centered than my belief that Arroyo has come on too strongly on China’s side -and that, if any preparations are going on, they are primarily for the midterms as the presidential derby is too far away right now. Here, the pruning of the ex-president’s party (Duterte’s PDP-Laban). is more significant than an individual member of it being given a leadership post (the way legislative affairs are run, personal relations count more than party relations).

Two Tweets, mine from 2022, CNN’s, yesterday.

Yesterday:

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