Boomerang

“Beware of smile, for it is a double-edged sword; it cuts the helmet of tension from other head and backfires the peace to yours.”

―Vikrmn, You By You

EVEN before the country’s political cretins, the conspirators and mercenaries could complete their final script to oust President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. these past days their sinister plot did not only nosedive but also boomeranged.

Instead of painting Mr. Marcos Jr. as the baddest guy on planet earth with outlandish accusations he pocketed billions of pesos from Zaldy Co’s criminal enterprise, the president became instant recipient of sympathies and pity even from supporters of his political enemies.

Instead of alienating him from the hoi polloi, the jealous and bitter enemies of Mr. Marcos Jr. succeeded only in making him as the Philippines’ Lorenzo de' Medici, ruler of Florence in late 15th century Renaissance.

Like Mr. Marcos Jr., Lorenzo de' Medici the Magnificent also faced a major conspiracy known as the Pazzi Conspiracy in 1478.

The plot, which involved a rival family and even the Pope, aimed to assassinate Lorenzo and his brother Giuliano during Mass in the Florence Duomo.

Giuliano was killed, but Lorenzo managed to escape with a shoulder wound. The failure of the assassination led to a public outcry that rallied support for the Medici, and the conspirators were captured and executed, solidifying Lorenzo's hold on power.

The grand failure by enemies of the Marcos Jr. administration committed perhaps the biggest blunders by using the disgraced Co so sully the president’s integrity and by allowing a dimwit, the president’s splenetic sister, Imee, to assassinate her brother’s name before a crowd composed of Iglesia Ni Kristo rallysts.

Now, after the smoke has cleared, Mr. Marcos Jr. remains alive and kicking, so to speak. They failed to topple him, and the momentum appears to have reversed in favor of the administration.

Boomerang is a curved flat piece of wood that can be thrown so that it will return to the thrower, traditionally used by Australian Aboriginal people as a hunting weapon.

If used in a conversation, it means the all-out blows uncorked by the president’s enemies from pillar to post backfired and hit them like a thunderbolt.

What happened to Mr. Marcos Jr. also reminded us of Augustus and Gaius Marius.

Augustus, first Roman Emperor, secured his position after years of civil war and potential challenges to his authority, establishing the Pax Romana (Roman Peace).

Gaius Marius was a Roman general and statesman who faced the severe crisis of the Social War (91–88 BC), a major civil war that threatened to overthrow the Roman government. He was a key figure in the Roman Republic's efforts to survive this massive internal conflict.