APPARENTLY, Malacañang is.
Its main tenant has been blunt about it. Leni Robredo is as fit as square peg in a round hole. No way is she going to live there at all should the current tenant becomes disposable .No one, after all, is indispensable, especially in politics.
That is, if Malacañang can help it, although that is the money question.
When Malacañang issued the self-incriminating diatribe, it was obviously preaching to its base. It expected the choir to sing the song as mindlessly arranged and with more intense energy.
Now, it appears that even some House members have jumped into the fray. Recently, a draft proposal on charter change suddenly emerged from the woodwork. Its main feature: it's the Senate president, not the vice president, who is to succeed the president in case he becomes disposable.
It's a disposable culture that we now have, so the term is appropriate.
Like Alice in Älice in Wonderland, Leni must be saying the same thing: it's getting curiouser and curiouser.
I look up the dictionary for the etymology and it's clear as day: vice means "in place of" and in the case of Leni, in place of the president. A senator is, tracing its meaning in Latin, a senior citizen or elder. The idea of a new succession protocol sucks.
Structurally, a vice president is part of the executive branch. A senator belongs to the legislative. Ergo, the VP is next in line in the succession, not the SP, even if that means "sipsip".
The venerable Frank Drilon has given his ten-cents worth. It's a recipe for instability. Some of his colleagues think it's an idea worth chewing. Swallowing is different thing altogether. They have enough to suffer from legislative indigestion. In fact, time is ripe for treating he institution for political parasitism.
So again, quoting from Alice, this part of draft proposal is uncommon nonsense.
On the other hand, the draft charter from the House might just be an extension of the narrative from Malacañang. In Goebbels-like fashion, try dribbling lies into people's ears and soon enough it becomes gospel truth.
Sometimes fear becomes your focus, and your focus becomes your future.
Malacañang probably is jealous of Leni. She has the best job in the world. As Will Roger said, all she has to do every morning is to ask "How's the President". For Leni, the question becomes more interesting, if not urgent, considering the health issue that has hounded Malacañang recently.
I don't know if Leni is tired of being vice or waiting for her turn at the helm. She doesn’t look it. But she's sure a refreshing option.
"How long is forever?" Alice asked. "Sometimes a second,” replied the White Rabbit.
Well, maybe a little longer than that.