Parallaxis is the author's column in Yahoo Philippines

The state of elite political families has never been in this disarray before since the Marcos days. No, not even during the past regime of Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has this happened. Power, it seems, begets power struggle.

We now have key members of four political families in jail on corruption charges. Senator Juan Ponce Enrile of the Cagayan-based Enrile family, Senator Ramon Revilla, Jr. of the Cavite-based Revilla family, and Senator Jinggoy Ejercito-Estrada of the San Juan City-based Estrada family were all implicated in the Napoles case and ordered arrested and jailed by the Sandiganbayan. Earlier in 2011, Congressswoman and former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo of the Pampanga-based Macapagal family was arrested and jailed on electoral fraud and corruption charges.

President Benigno Aquino III himself comes from two national political families, on his father side, the Aquino family, and, on his mother’s side, the Cojuangco family. However, it is no secret that there are cracks within the clan. His two uncles, Eduardo “Danding” Cojuangco, Jr. and Jose “Peping” Cojuangco, Jr. were at odds with the president’s family at one time or another.

Lately, the president’s sisters came out openly on the side of Vice-President Jejomar “Jojo” Binay in his bid for presidency in 2016. It was also rumored that they were behind the pressure on the president to drop DBM Secretary Florencio “Butch” Abad from the Cabinet.

Last week, Vice-President Binay dropped a political bomb. He disclosed that there were feelers (though calling them “raw information” later) for him to run as the guest presidential candidate of the ruling Liberal party. Whether true or not, this created flurries of frantic responses among the political families. He later said he is open to a Binay-Roxas presidential ticket.

The United Nationalist Alliance (Una)—led by an uneasy coalition of the Binay, Ejercito-Estrada and Enrile families—immediately issued a denial. Later, some among them sounded its openness for a Binay-led coalition with the Liberal Party.

The Liberal, in its turn, sounded flustered. First, its leadership flatly rejected the notion. Then, it backtracked with some of them saying that anything is possible.

Its current contender for the presidential contest, Secretary Manuel “Mar” Roxas II (from the Capiz-based Araneta and Roxas political families) sent off his own bomb with the proposal for a second term for President Aquino.

Apparent in both VP Binay’s and Sec. Roxas’ pronouncements was the indirect acknowledgment that the ruling Liberal Party has a weak bench for the presidential contest in 2016. As the time for decision is fast approaching, its options kept getting narrower.

On its face, the proposal for a second term for President Aquino flies in the face of his oft-repeated pronouncements that he will end his political career in 2016 and that he will not encourage charter change, particularly in relation to a second presidential term.

It is interesting that President Aquino himself announced his openness to the proposal. However, the political costs of the move far outweigh any benefit this may deliver. It is therefore more useful in the short-term in maintaining his political grip on the ruling coalition, rejecting claims about his becoming a lameduck president, and creating new avenues for political options.

All the national political families are maneuvering now for advantageous positioning relative to each other in the impending transition to a new presidency. Not only those with their prominent politicians in jail, but also those who ruled in the past and those who want to avenge the past.  For all, presidency in 2016 represents the Power.