Manila, Philippines (The Adobo Chronicles) – Not since the Macarena craze in 1996 has a dance form made a big splash in the Philippines. It’s a big come back never before seen on the dance floor.

Cha cha is, of course, a dance that first became popular in the 1950s. It is derived from two other dances, the Latin Mambo and the Swing. It is a favorite category in ballroom dancing as well as in the popular American reality television show, “Dancing With The Stars.”

In recent weeks, Filipinos — baby boomers and millennials alike — have been packing dance studios and night clubs to practice or showcase their ‘1-2-3-4 and 1’ steps, and DJs are dusting their old  vinyl records to replace their hip hop CDs.

Many believe that the big come back was prompted by recent clamor from supporters of President NoyNoy Aquino for him to run for a second term.  The constitution limits the presidential term to six years, without the possibility of re-election.  Aquino’s term ends in 2016.  His allies in Congress have suggested a constitutional convention to amend the fundamental law of the land and allow for a second term for the president.  In the Philippines, a constitutional convention is more popularly know as “Cha Cha.”

Aquino’s Interior Minister Mar Roxas is leading the clamor to convene a new Cha Cha to allow the President to stay in power.  Ironically, Roxas, in 2008, was a harsh critic of then President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo who wanted to convene a Cha Cha to allow her to run for another term.

In the beginning, Aquino had said that a Cha Cha just to extend his current term is out of the question, but he is now warming up to the idea as he faces the remaining year and a half of his residence at the presidential palace. “I’ve come to enjoy living here,” he told reporters. “I wouldn’t mind another six years or more.”