Last man standing will be a woman: Imelda

I do not know if it was Leni Robredo herself who coined the phrase "the last man standing will be a woman" but it sure has a nice ring to it even if it does not make any sense under the circumstances. All legitimate presidential preference surveys taken in the run-up to the May 9 elections have consistently shown that it will be Bongbong Marcos who will be elected if the polls were held today. And he is not a woman.

But if we take it to its logical conclusion, given that the phrase has become sort of a byword in the Robredo campaign, then any woman who might be left standing would be no other than Imelda Romualdez Marcos, the mother of Bongbong, a woman who is more reviled than even her husband Ferdinand Marcos Sr., or their son. If Bongbong wins, Imelda will strut and traipse across the stage and be heard once more.

Many will surely hate me for this piece, especially given a title like that. But a phrase like that, repeatedly uttered under circumstances that do not lend it credence despite all the bravado of those who say it, just is too tempting not to tease and tweak a little. So, yes, I wholeheartedly submit and agree that the last man standing will be a woman. I just do not see that woman as Leni.

And because there is no other woman among the 10 or so major candidates, and Leni not being expected to make it, the only woman I can think of who will remain on her feet when the dust settles is Imelda. She may not be a candidate herself, but she is as much as one, being an issue not just in this election but in all previous ones since her family left Malacañang in 1986.

There is one other reason why I chose this subject and this title for my piece today than just the urge for a little mischief and make the Marcos-haters lose sleep again. And it is that yesterday's Gospel made me think of the Marcoses and how everybody --bishops, priests and nuns included-- would have stoned them to death if only they could. Hating the Marcoses has become both a cottage industry and a sport.

Well, the Gospel yesterday was about a sinner woman that an angry crowd brought before Jesus prior to being stoned to death, as was the practice in those times. But the Son of God, who would later give up his own life so that the sins of all will be forgiven, turned to the crowd and, without passing judgment, told them: "Let he who is without sin cast the first stone."

No stone ever left the hand of anyone. The woman was left standing, unhurt, and Jesus let her go, telling her to sin no more. In the heat of the campaign season, I could not help but think of Imelda as that woman, fit to be stoned but, who knows, maybe spared by the greater judge who has dominion over all. Whether Imelda will sin no more, or whether she would even repent at all, is a matter between her and God.

It is not up to us sinners to pass that kind of judgment on anyone. That is what the Gospel conveyed. Yet look who are in the forefront of condemnation but bishops, priests, and nuns themselves, the Pharisees of the modern age. Any of them could have gone to the Marcoses, talked God to them. Instead they condemn and beat their breasts in public, through media and pastoral letters, so all can see how holy they are.

One currently loud issue against the Marcoses has something to do with taxes. But who among those who condemn and cancel has not, if just once or twice, cheated on their taxes. What sins the Marcoses have they will account before God. In this life, let those without sin cast the first stone. I really believe that in God's infinite wisdom, the man left standing will be a woman. And it will not be Leni.