Because for whatever reason the President and the Liberal Party have no shame in telling us all that they are trying very very hard to get Mar Roxas and Grace Poe to come together as one team for the 2016 Elections, it also seems imperative that we point out who’s the biggest free rider of all: Senator Chiz Escudero.

Because wouldn’t it be great if he had the sense to already advise Poe to quit with the Presidential aspirations, the surveys be damned, and just settle for Vice President because that is what is right? Just because Poe has no experience, is a novice Senator, and is really biting off more than she can chew here. She’s also setting herself up to be the next PNoy: sincere, not corrupt, but President? Not at all.

But of course it seems that what’s operating is Chiz’s ego being stroked by the fact that he is so needed by Poe, like an older brother, a mentor, a best friend, an adviser that she cannot live without. And this is even better for Chiz isn’t it? That the woman who’s topping the Presidential survey is so indebted to him, so dependent on him, so enamoured by all that he can do for her.

But this is not about what Chiz can do for Poe, as it is what Poe is giving Chiz. Before Poe topped that survey, Chiz was not even a name being floated for any of the two top positions. And save for embarassing billboards where the Senator is selling diamonds and paint with wife Heart, and of course that lavish wedding, Chiz was barely in public consciousness.

In an interview with him in October he had told me that he is a creature of surveys, and that is what dictates his actions. He failed to tell me that he wasn’t checking those surveys to see if his name would appear and how high up on the list. He checks it to know where he will stand for the 2016 Presidential elections.

Which is embarassing isn’t it? I mean all it paints is a picture of Chiz as freeloader. That Senator who is only part of this picture because Poe is completely unable to function without him, or because he has convinced this woman that she needs him to run in 2016.

If I were Mar I would be so offended, that the duo of Poe and Escudero are even being considered by the President. He is correct when he says he has already proven he can sacrifice for the matuwid na daan — not that his sacrifice has meant better for nation. It gave us PNoy after all.

If I were the President I would be so offended that my friend Chiz is even part of this picture, making it more difficult to negotiate with Poe to step down to Vice President — where she should be by the way.

If I were Poe I would be so embarrassed that I’m revealing myself to be so dependent on one man who’s technically just my equal, and so unable to negotiate on my own, for my own political career. I would be so embarrassed by the fact that while I’m topping the Presidential surveys, I am revealing that I am in over my head, unable to make decisions, and certainly unable to make the better decision to slide down to VP.

But then again, Poe is being made to believe that she should believe the surveys too, and there’s no point in sliding down to VP, or even just staying in the Senate, which would be ideal for any Senator who’s only had three years in office. Then again someone is saying that she can do it, she should believe the surveys, she will be the good (ala PNoy) versus the evil (i.e., Binay).

Say whut. Say Chiz.