Former Philippine First Lady Imelda Marcos (right) during her 90th birthday celebration in Manila, Philippines, Monday.
Photo:Efe
PHOTO:Efe
After decades of figuring in Philippine politics, the former first lady has retired from public life.
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July 2, 2019, 11:49 AM EFEfe July 2, 2019, 11:49 AMCelebrated for her predilection for luxury and her extensive collection of shoes and jewelry, the former First Lady of the Philippines Imelda Marcos turned 90 this Tuesday .
More than 30 years after the end of the "conjugal dictatorship" of Ferdinad and Imelda Marcos who ruled the Philippines between 1965 and 1986 (eight of them under martial law), the former first lady still enjoys a strong popular support, which has allowed her to carve out a political career in democracy that ended two days ago.Imelda is an icon of elegance, extravagant and considered one of the most influential and charismatic wives of leaders in the second half of the 20th century. She held various political posts in the Philippines after returning from exile in Hawaii in 1991 -where her husband died- and facing some 400 legal proceedings for the brutal looting of the country.
Hundreds of Marcos supporters attended the Rizal Park in Manila this Monday to celebrate the 90th birthday of the woman known as the "iron butterfly", at which she attended with her entire family, including they are their children Imee and Bongbong, who have taken over politics with good results.
The Marcos family's political legacyAfter nine years as governor of the Ilocos Norte region -the Marcos fiefdom- Imee, the 63-year-old eldest daughter, has just won a seat in the Senate; while her brother Bongbong, 61, was already a senator, he was on the verge of being elected vice president in the 2016 elections and sounds like a possible candidate for the presidency for 2022.
"More than 30 years have passed and you are still loyal to the Marcoses. My children have been candidates for leadership positions and instead of losing support, we have achieved more. This nation will be great again," said Imelda, to who applauded, sang "happy birthday" and gave away dozens of bouquets of flowers. Imelda's term as a congresswoman for Ilocos Norte, where her husband was born, expired on June 30, after nine years holding that seat,
President of the Philippines sexually assaulted a domestic workerPresident of the Philippines encourages killing of the country's Catholic bishopsThe wave of corruptionThe widow of the dictator Ferdinand Marcos (1917-1989) left the Legislature as the third Richest female parliamentarian, with a 2018 declared net worth of more than $18 million. And last November, Imelda was sentenced for the first time for corruption to at least 42 years in prison for the diversion of 200 million dollars from the public treasury to private accounts in her name in Switzerland between 1968 and 1984 , when she was governor of Manila.
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Seeing the former first lady behind bars is as unlikely as paying the money back
The sentence also disqualified her for life from holding public office and, although it is not final, the Marcos matriarch withdrew her candidacy for governor of Ilocos Norte a few weeks later -replacing her daughter- for the elections of mid-term meetings that were held in May. This case could take years to appeal in the slow Philippine justice system, since that sentence responded to ten lawsuits filed by the Ombudsman between 1991 and 1995, so seeing the former first lady behind bars is as unlikely as to pay the money back.
Imelda's fortuneThe growing influence of the Marcos in public life alarms broad sectors of Philippine society, especially victims of the dictatorship and human rights defenders, who do not forget that during martial law ( 1972-81) at least 3,240 opponents were killed, 70,000 imprisoned and 34,000 tortured.
In addition to the flagrant violations of rights, the Marcos massed an illegal fortune of some 10,000 million dollars and in 1989 they entered the Guinness Book of Records for starring in "the biggest robbery seen within a government." Transparency International considers Ferdinand Marcos the second most corrupt leader in history, only behind the Indonesian Suharto. When in 1986 a peaceful popular revolt, led by Corazon Aquino, forced the Marcos to flee to Hawaii, Imelda left 15 mink coats, 508 dresses, 888 handbags and her well-known collection of more than 3,000 pairs of shoes.
I have to look beautiful so that the poor have a star to admire
"I have to look beautiful so that the poor have a star to admire", is one of Imelda's most famous phrases when she was first lady, to justify her visits to the Manila slums clad in furs, pearls and gold, while extreme poverty bled the country dry.
The Vatican will open two tombs to search for a young woman who disappeared in 1983The European Parliament inaugurates its ninth legislature and will elect a new presidentWho was the Venezuelan captain who died in the custody of the regime?The US government documented that the Marcoses entered Hawaii with Millions of dollars in cash, jewelry, and various gold bars inscribed "To my husband on our 24th anniversary." Despite having declared an estate of $950,000 from 1965 to 1984, the Marcoses acquired more than a hundred paintings by painters such as Picasso, Van Gogh and Monet, then valued at $25 million, as well as several buildings in the best avenues in New York and Beverly Hills. efe
July 2, 2019, 11:49 AM EFEfe July 2, 2019, 11:49 AMOur World
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