The surveys were right. Weeks before May 13, polls indicated that 40-year-old Nancy Binay, a candidate for senator in the Philippine election and daughter of Vice President Jejomar Binay, would be elected one of the 12 senators.

Partial results said she is indeed in the winning circle, placing 5th place with 7.8 million votes so far, the bulk likely from Makati.

With her sure slot in the Senate, the eldest daughter of the VP should brace herself for more criticisms and downright insults - ranging from her lack of experience for a national legislative position to her skin colour she inherited from her father.

Her father, a long-time mayor of Makati, home to the country's financial district, was dubbed the Philippines' first black vice president when he won the post in 2010, despite being literally the dark horse in the three-way race. However, no one questioned his qualifications since he was a known human rights lawyer and local official for 20 years before he moved to a higher national post.

But it was a different case for Nancy, a tourism graduate, who opted to work as personal assistant to her father and mother - who also served for a time as Makati mayor - for 20 years.

Her inexperience was initially the subject of brickbats thrown her way, intensified by the fact that she was just a substitute candidate for a politician who backed out, and her refusal to participate in debates, giving rise to speculations that Nancy is merely riding on her Binay surname to win.

It didn't help that when the VP was asked why Nancy deserves to be a senator, her father replied, "because she is my daughter," nor her campaign slogan promising that she will be the country's mother in the senate.

She was constantly compared to another female candidate, Risa Hontiveros, who belongs to the administration party and was perceived as Nancy's opposite in terms of brains and beauty. Ms Hontiveros was one of those behind the impeachment moves against former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and ousted Supreme Court Chief Justice Renato Corona.

Days to the election, a fake press release surfaced that her lawyers sought and was granted a court order prohibiting Nancy from joining political debates. She aptly described the press release as part of a black propaganda.

As the election date approached, the jokes which circulated in social networking sites turned for the worse as it made fun of her dark skin colour and comely appearance.

One joke goes that during a campaign sortie in Quiapo district, people suddenly approached and wiped her face with red handkerchiefs, a humorous reference to the famous Black Nazarene statue in Quiapo Church revered by millions of Filipinos.

Another joke recalled the March conclave in Vatican when a white smoke that emanated from the Sistine Chapel confirmed the election of a pope. The Philippine version of the chimney smoke is that black smoke from the rooftop of the Commission on Elections would mean Nancy just made it to the Senate!

One fake Twitter account claiming she is the VP's daughter uses the handle The Dark Lord and posted a joke about Nancy dreaming she was given a pair of wings by a fairy. When she asked if she has been made an angel, the curt reply in Tagalog was "Don't be overly ambitious ... You are a bat!"

The racist jokes, which are not surprising in a country where women take Glutathione pills and frequent derma clinics for skin whitening solutions, was described by one tweeter, Anissa Villaverde, as expressions of social relevance in the Philippines, which consists of making jokes about Nancy's skin colour and puns about the nickname of another candidate, Dick Gordon.

However, it is not all jokes at Nancy's expense. Some tweeters chided fellow Filipinos for the cruel jokes which Kim Sabala said are getting too personal. Neil Bretana added, "I don't usually comment on these, but I find the Nancy Binay jokes really offensive, disrespectful and totally irrelevant."

Tara Lim was more honest and admitted, "I'm sorry, I won't pretend I'm above these Nancy Binay jokes."

Although she is not a Binay fan, Sara asked, "Can we all just stop with 'haha nancy binay is so dark' jokes. Dislike her for her lack of political experience, not her skin color."

Although the future lady senator has admitted to being hurt by the below-the-belt jokes, Jay Molina's tweet perhaps captures the current situation about the country's flavour of the month. "nancy binay is taking all the insults, jokes and mockery and laughing at all of us all the way to the senate."

However, another tweeter warned that while Nancy may make it to the Senate, she will be eaten alive by the fiery Miriam Defensor-Santiago, a veteran senator known for her motormouth and ballistic remarks.

There are those who expressed concern that Binay may join the silent majority in the Senate, made up mostly of former actors whose voices are hardly heard in the chambers; but then, Nancy may just surprise the Filipino nation.

After all, in the 1986 snap election, Corazon Aquino, a woman dismissed by then President Ferdinand Marcos as a "mere housewife" changed the course of history, restored democracy and even became its first female president.

RELATED STORIES