EDITORIAL - Kidnap Kris and Manny plot preposterous

President Aquino has every right to come to the rescue of his little sister Kris. But if he has to deflect some of the flak that has come her way as a result of her use of presidential helicopters to campaign for Liberal Party standard-bearer Mar Roxas, he could have at least tried something more imaginative, something that can turn scorn into sympathy.

Unfortunately for Aquino, and more so for Kris, the yarn spun by the president that the Abu Sayyaf was plotting to kidnap not only Kris but Manny Pacquiao as well has only resulted in the spinning of more nasty comments and jokes about little sister, most of them on social media. Whether it was the idea of the president himself or suggested by some Malacañang bright boy, the fact is, the yarn fell flat on its back and proved more disastrous for Kris than ever before.

Kris may be a top high-earning commercial endorser in this country and may count on some deferential respectability owing to her umbilical ties to the Palace. But beyond the blinding reaches of showbiz lights and the compelling pull of political influence, not a lot of people love her. To suggest, therefore, that she is a target for kidnapping by the Abu Sayyaf  is to court a high probability of a backfire.

Of course, all things being equal, the possibility of such a plot being real cannot be ruled out entirely. But if that is the case, then the Abu Sayyaf must be totally crazy. And whatever shred of credibility it may still have within the terrorized circle upon which it preys, it may as well kiss it a lasting goodbye. Kidnap Manny Pacquiao, one of the most popular men on the planet?

Just because Manny Pacquiao is awash with cash does not automatically make him an easy kidnap target in the Philippines, not even by the Abu Sayyaf. Pacquiao is the kind of personality that can break loyalties even within the ranks of the Abu Sayyaf itself. There is no surer way for the Abu Sayyaf to self-destruct than to do such a foolish thing as to kidnap Manny Pacquiao.

The only other thing that can perhaps match the folly of kidnapping somebody as well-loved and well-admired as Pacquiao is for the Abu Sayyaf to actually plot the kidnapping of Kris Aquino. Not that Kris is that loved and admired as to provoke a loyalty crisis within bandit circles. It is just that you simply do not kidnap the sister of a differently-thinking president unless you want to be pulverized and annihilated.

Kris and Manny, as far as practicable as potential kidnap targets, should be off-limits to any bandit group in the Philippines. For President  Aquino to even think of the idea only exposes his bankruptcy in even such an uncomplicated arena. There is supposed to be no limit to the imagination, but even then there are pieces of imagination so preposterous they are best left unborn.