Dry run for 2016?

In social media is posted a photo of Senators Grace Poe and Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. together with two others at the resumption of the 3rd regular session of Congress just before President Aquino delivers his State-of-the-Nation Address today.

The Tweeter post said Sen. Poe joked that Bongbong's sons were her nephews. Bongbong, on the other hand, also quipped that this was a family picture, alluding to the rumor—unfounded and baseless, but perhaps given credence by the gullible—that Grace is an illegitimate daughter of his late father.

The photo of the two senators together is likely to fuel speculation that they may be up to something now that the 2016 elections is just around the corner.

After all, Poe has topped recent surveys of potential presidential candidates, and said to have been the object of intense political courtship by PNoy in two extended dinners at Malacañang, presumably to get her as Mar Roxas's vice presidential bet.

Marcos, on the other hand, is being pushed by his mother, former First Lady and now Leyte Rep. Imelda Marcos, to toss his hat into the presidential derby. While he has not given a categorical answer as to whether he is running for higher political office, at the very least he is probably considering the idea of taking a stab at the presidency, but only if he can muster enough support not just from the Ilocano Republic, from the other regions as well.

In any event, a Poe-Marcos or Marcos-Poe tandem is an unlikely possibility at this point, even if they’re chummy in photo-ops and even joking about their supposed "family relations." But since there are no permanent friends or enemies in politics, only permanent interests, as the politically savvy would say, we cannot totally rule out the possibility of a newspaper headline declaring a Poe-Marcos or Marcos-Poe team-up as we draw closer to October, when the candidates must file their certificates of candidacy.

Don’t say we didn’t warn you. –End-

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