By: Rina Jimenez-David
Philippine Daily Inquirer
7:52 pm | Monday, January 23rd, 2012
Poor P-Noy! Here he was, having to sit it out by (presumably) his lonesome in the cold clime of Baguio while his former girlfriend Shalani Soledad was basking in the sunshine of her wedding day as she got married to Rep. Roman Romulo, son of P-Noy’s former Foreign Secretary Alberto Romulo.
Not only that, P-Noy could still be smarting from the “epic fail†of the botched matchmaking attempted by his youngest sister Kris, who tweeted, after watching her brother entertain visiting Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra at a lunch reception in Malacañang that she thought the visitor, described as “tall, slim and attractive†was “bagay (a good fit) for P-Noy!â€
But a few things stand in the way of a match: Prime Minister Shinawatra apparently has a relationship of long standing with low-key businessman Anusorn Amornchat with whom she has a son, Suparek. Then there is Yingluck’s oldest brother Thaksin, widely regarded as her business and political mentor who is now on self-exile from Thailand, who described his youngest sister as “my clone,†and may not relish losing her to the bachelor president of this country. And as one snippy online commentator huffed, Yingluck’s husband “has thick hair.â€
It wasn’t the bald comparison that especially irked P-Noy, though. It was the report (in this paper) that Yingluck, who stands a statuesque (by Asian standards) 5’7â€, is an inch taller than the President, who is 5’6â€. “I am not 5’6,†nor do I engage in 5-6,†commented P-Noy (in what I hope was a humorous aside), referring to the erroneous report on his height (he claims to be 5’10â€) which he likened to the usurious daily lending rate of informal creditors.
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Many of the commentators got on Kris’ case, but this is not the first time the presidential sister, famous for her gift of gab, has given away secrets in the complicated world of show business, including her own life. This may be the first time, though, that she has transgressed into the political arena, and may even have committed a diplomatic faux pas.
“Very polite and diplomatic†is how a long-time observer of Thai culture (who lived in Thailand for some time) describes the prevailing ethos among the Thai. And the impression that Premier Yingluck Shinawatra is single may have been created because her husband has chosen to keep a very low profile. “The spouse may have some influence but never openly intervenes especially if it is the woman who is in control,†writes this observer. “You don’t have a first gentleman like Mike Arroyo hanging around and seen actively pushing things.â€
We Pinoys, who tend to see the funny side of things, may think this is all a laughing matter, but “in Thailand the Philippines is fast becoming a laughingstock,†writes the observer. Under Thai culture, he explains, “for a bachelor head of state to be seen in public needing a marriage broker is questionable.†It says something about that leader’s masculinity, for one.
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