Anyone ever heard of Neneng Dayan? Perhaps just a few seconds of an interview was all that was mentioned of the spouse of Ronnie Dayan, the confessed driver-lover of Senator Leila de Lima.
Other than that, none. Who cares about Neneng anyway?
All that has been talked about so far has been Senator De Lima and her affair with Dayan which became the focal point of the House inquiry that was supposed to investigate on the illegal drug trade at the New Bilibid Prison.
Following Dayan’s revelations at the House probe, Senator Delima as usual used the gender cloak to protect her.
Her statements were always anchored on her being a woman, using that argument to project that she is the victim in this spectacle.
She said: “As a woman, it breaks my heart that my private life and personal relationship have become subject of the public and Congress’ ridicule.”
And another: “No woman, whoever or whatever she may be, whether a sitting senator or a humble secretary, deserves to be betrayed, to be treated with so much disrespect and without dignity, before the public eye, by any man she is with or had a relationship with.”
Through all that, Senator Delima did not even admit to her wrongdoing nor apologize to Neneng Dayan for engaging into an affair with Dayan.
Which leads us to the question: Who is the real victim here? Is it Senator Delima whose private life is now being feasted upon by the entire nation? Is it Ronnie who, for being a loyal driver, did everything for her boss which included his snob of the Congressional inquiry that led to his shoot-to-kill manhunt? Or is it Neneng, the scorned power-less wife?
As a woman, Senator Delima, a lawyer and a government official of the highest order, should know that her acts have caused so much pain to another woman and that woman’s daughter and mother.
Through it all, even the women who rallied behind Senator Delima did not feel any feelings at all for the poor wife. Vice President Leni Robredo to Senators Grace Poe and Riza Hontiveros should realize that it is Neneng Dayan, not Leila, who deserves their compassion.
Terribly misplaced, it is.
