BAYANI

by MLC | Mar 18, 2019 | Martial Law Stories

Do not begrudge me my burial at Libingan ng mga Bayani.

It was my dying wish, even though this fiction has been manufactured by my family to advance their political agenda, in which I no longer have an interest or stake.

After all, I am dead…

Dead as the remains of my bust at Tuba, Benguet, majestically blasted.

Dead as my handsome wax likeness standing in for my corpse at my sometime mausoleum.

Truth is I really wanted to be buried beside my mother at Batac, Ilocos Norte.

Quibbles aside, know that I am a hero, bayani.

This claim matters…

Please pause awhile to contemplate it.

I am a decorated soldier, the most bemedaled in Philippine military history!

Audie Murphy of the U.S. Army received only 27 awards and medals.

I got 33!

Do not envy me my medals, which radiate like five-pointed stars, old as the universe.

They flame like the eight-rayed sun.

They shine like the purest white of the Philippine flag.

They are warrior red.

They are in justice, peace, and truth, blue.

They are golden laurels adorning my brow.

They are golden lampstands honoring my valor.

They are golden crowns capping my molars.

Do not pay the least attention to my detractors who dispute the circumstances under which I acquired these honors.

Fact is, they are real awards.

Two medals were awarded during the Second World War, the Gold Cross and the Distinguished Service Star.

Admittedly, everything else was awarded years after the war ended.

Eight are campaign ribbons that all Bataan veterans and World War II Philippine guerrillas receive…true, many of our compatriots have them.

I received ten awards on a single day, almost twenty years after the war’s end!

Small matter that I received the highest Philippine award for military valor, the Medal of Valor, twelve years later, based on only two affidavits signed by my comrades-in-arms.

Why would my confreres lie? Take it from me: it is the getting that matters.

Three U.S. Army medals of which I am most proud were all given for different actions in which I risked my life, even though I had never been assigned to patrol or combat, only civil affairs.

Please examine the authenticated photograph of my breast adorned by the Distinguished Service Cross, the Silver Star, and the Order of the Purple Heart—this last I received without any evidence of physical injuries, including scars!

General Douglas MacArthur himself pinned the Distinguished Service Cross on my chest! At the time, he had exclaimed that if it were not for my exploits, Bataan would have fallen three months earlier!

When he said so, he bit down so hard on the stem of his corn cob pipe, it broke!

In 1947 General Omar Bradley himself saluted me when he saw my breast emblazoned with six rows of ribbons, headed by 22 valor medals!

Although Bradley was suffering from double vision at the time—he was getting on, his eyesight was failing, you see—you can be sure it was no mean display that embroidered my svelte torso!

Trust me, if you want to receive that many medals and awards, go after multiple different awards for the same action—

You can get eight, nine, ten awards for the same event, just by being persistent!

I was the most decorated hero of the Second World War!

Only a Christmas tree does better!

Iginuhit ng Tadhana!

In meekness and humility, I received when I was president, U.S. Congress’ rejection of my application for the Congressional Medal of Honor.

By then forty years had lapsed from the time General Mateo Capinpin, following General Jonathan Wainwright’s instruction at Bataan, had in writing recommended me for the award.

The papers were lost during the Fall of Bataan, so anyone living at the time who could have contradicted my statement was dead.

I suppose that when you have 33 awards and medals, one more, even if it is the U.S. Congressional Medal of Honor, doesn’t make a whole lot of difference.

Does it?

I joined in the defense of Bataan with the rank of Third Lieutenant.

By war’s end I had attained the rank of Lieutenant Colonel, even though in the files of the United States Armed Forces in the Far East and of the Philippine Commonwealth Army, there is no evidence or record of my promotion beyond First Lieutenant.

Know that in only 72 days, I was promoted from Third Lieutenant to Captain, this last promotion from General Wainwright by telephone from Corregidor!

At the time, he was encamped at Bagac, Ilocos Norte!

Don’t ask me how he could have been in two places at one time!

In 1942, I was promoted to Major and in 1944 to Lieutenant Colonel, both by “Unknown Authority.”

Don’t ask me how it happened—it is unknown even to me!

After the Fall of Bataan, I joined my valiant comrades in the Death March, staggering into Camp O’Donnell at Capas, Tarlac.

Released by the Japanese in August 1942, I was soon arrested by the Kempeitai. Tortured in Fort Santiago prison, I escaped.

Just because no one remembers I was there doesn’t mean I wasn’t.

After my escape, I organized Ang Mga Maharlika, a guerrilla band which was responsible for intelligence gathering, and conducting sabotage and assassination operations against the invaders.

I led Ang Mga Maharlika during more than 300 skirmishes, conducting guerrilla operations in North Luzon, Baguio, Zambales, and Manila, growing the band to 8,300 men at its peak strength!

I am proud to have served with them, all brave fighters, no bandits or black-market hustlers.

When they sold war materials to the enemy, it was undertaken solely as a cunning ploy to gather intelligence.

Know that as a guerrilla, I regularly tramped around barefoot, inuring myself to hardship.

All my exploits I achieved barefoot! Ask Ray C. Hunt Jr., the U.S. Army captain whom met I met during the war!

In total, I fought in 27 battles, some of them occurring in different places at the same time!

Do not believe those who say they never saw me at the Battle of Bessang Pass.

Proof I was there: my story is identical to that of Colonel Conrado Rigor Sr.!

After the battle, General Russell Volckmann confided to me that Yamashita had almost surrendered to my intrepid guerrilla band!

I was not, like Jose Rizal, a martyr.

On the contrary, under my regime I martyred many thousands who opposed me.

Estimates put it at about 70,000 imprisoned in violation of their human rights, 34,000 tortured, and precisely 3,275 killed or disappeared, of which 2,520 were left as broken, dismembered, mutilated bodies for roadside recovery.

I take full responsibility for it, everything.

After all, they were every single one of them Communists, no exception.

True, some denied it, even under torture.

Never believe a Communist, I always say.

I did not, like Andres Bonifacio, incite our people to revolt against an oppressive colonial government.

It was my own oppressive government that was overthrown by our people in a largely peaceful civilian revolution.

Despite some world-class play-acting…if I might say so myself, my talents are manifold…on my part and that of my irrepressible henchman, General Fabian Ver…during a moro-moro televised live…I demonstrated laudably high-minded efforts to restrain our loyal soldiers from inflicting excessive violence on our unarmed people…with remarkable self-possession I guided them in fulfilling their duty to defend my family, that is, our nation…yes, I was ignominiously deposed.

Our Philippine Air Force deserted me…I had little choice but to flee Malacañang, absconding via a U.S. C-140 plane for what I thought at the time was a flight to my homeland at Paoay, Ilocos Norte.

Turns out my pal, Ronald Reagan, had misinformed the U.S. Air Force pilot that I had booked my family a two-week vacation at Hawaii.

How could I possibly have been planning a vacation when my family had brought with us enough loot to last way beyond two weeks?…to be precise, 22 crates of $717 million equivalent in cash, 300 crates of assorted jewelry, estimated value unknown, unset gems worth $4 million, assorted jewelry worth $7.7 million, including 65 Seiko and Cartier watches, lustrous pearls filling a 12” x 4” box, a 3-foot high solid gold statue bedecked with precious stones, gold bullion worth $200,000, and $124 million in deposit slips to U.S., Swiss, and Cayman Islands banks.

No, I did not, like Emilio Aguinaldo, barter away the Philippine state for the proverbial bowl of lentils.

When our first president exchanged for lucre the declaration of our nascent independence, he surrendered to our Spanish colonial masters the opportunity for us to establish our first constitutional republic.

I did not enrich myself so opportunistically while I served in government.

I was a rich man before I became president…very, very, very rich…

I did not declare the full extent of my assets, among them, hidden vaults stacked with gold bars to the ceiling a la Atahualpa, so that our people would not contemn me because of my wealth.

Seeing in me instead an exceptionally gifted man of humble means, they would vote for me.

Our people gave me the chance to serve, all I ever really wanted.

Do not believe the CIA estimate that I looted $5 to $10 billion from our treasury.

You don’t believe the CIA, do you?

The World Bank officially endorses the CIA estimate, true.

All the major independent news networks, international and local, as well.

Professional historians of good repute, too.

The latter cite in support judicial rulings and legislative acts in the U.S., Switzerland, Singapore, and the Philippines.

Not so long ago the Philippine government passed “The Human Rights Victims Reparation and Recognition Act of 2013,” awarding $246 million of some $683 million of my Swiss bank deposits to 9,539 victims in the Hawaii class action suit.

So far, under this law 75,730 claims have been filed and counting.

I concede that many sources have invoked masses of circumstantial evidence against me—Imelda’s extravagant shopping sprees in the hundreds of thousands of dollars, including her one-day $2,181,000.00 splurge in New York City; signature cards abandoned when I fled Malacañang, for secret Swiss bank accounts in the pseudonyms of “William Saunders,”“John Lewis,”and “Jane Ryan”; $1.2 billion missing in Central Bank reserves, $6 billion missing in Special Accounts; 6.325 metric tons of gold, also missing from Central Bank; $21 million worth of Old Masters paintings seized by the U.S. government and liquidated in a 1991 Christie’s auction; The Crown Building on Fifth Avenue corner 57th Street, also sold in a 1991 auction for $93.6 million; government sequestered tracts of land in Cagayan, Manila, Tagaytay, Batangas, and Rizal, appraised at $12.62 million in 2006; $20 to $30 million of U.S. assets seized by U.S. federal officials in 2012; Imelda’s $23 million collection of jewelry and watches, primed for auction; Imee’s secret offshore trust fund in the British Virgin Islands…

Recently, the Philippine Commission on Good Government declared that in the period from 1986 to 2015, it was able recover $3.69 billion of my ill-gotten wealth.

Let’s cut to the chase.

Who do you choose to believe?

I may have committed very many sins in my life, but stealing money from the Philippine people is not one of them.

Numerous indeed are my detractors, but surely my word shines forth honorably, underpinned redoubtably by the integrity of my 33 awards and medals, all of which were gained at suicidal risk to my life and to those of my men!

Historians, economists, journalists, many others say that during my term as president, the Philippines transformed from the second most dynamic economy this part of the world into the “Sick Man of Asia.”

They say we were left behind by our neighbors in East and Southeast Asia—Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Taiwan, Hong Kong, South Korea—countries or societies that posted annual growth rates of five percent or higher.

They say we lost two decades of development—beginning in 1982 when our per capita gross domestic product began to decline, recovering its value only 21 years later, in 2003.

They say that from 1984 to 1985, we experienced the worst recession in our history, our gross domestic product contracting each year by 7.3 percent…that during the 21-year period under my rule, underemployment rose from 10 to 33 percent of the population…that real wages dropped by as much as 73 percent from 1966 to 1985…that inflation shot to 50 percent in 1984…that the poverty rate increased from 41 percent in 1965 to 58.9 percent in 1985…that our foreign debt ballooned from $4.1 billion in 1975 to $8.2 billion in 1977 to $28.3 billion in 1986…that our national debt equaled 58.63 percent of our gross domestic product in 1986…that the peso-dollar exchange rate plummeted from Php3.92 to one dollar in 1969 to Php8.54 in 1982 to Php18.61 in 1986…that I resorted to “crony capitalism,” awarding huge projects and entire industries to my political allies, resulting in inefficiency, bankruptcy, and stagnation in the manufacturing sector…that I spent $2.3 billion to build the Bataan Nuclear Power Plant, generating tens of millions of pesos in annual costs, besides zero electricity.

Let’s put it this way.

Are you going to listen to eggheads?

Or will you believe your eyes?

Anyone can fabricate mountains of statistics…I should know.

Now, infrastructure—you can’t make that up.

Under my administration the Cultural Center of the Philippines was built…Folk Arts Theater…Philippine International Convention Center…Makiling Center for the Arts…Nayong Pilipino…Coconut Palace…People’s Park in the Sky…Philippine Heart Center…National Kidney and Transplant Institute…Lung Center of the Philippines…at least 20 power plants…30 state colleges and universities…11,472 meters of bridges…105,000 km of roads and highways…230,000 public housing units…irrigation facilities for 1.5 million hectares of agricultural land…nationwide telecommunications systems…innumerable public schools…

As for cronies, my answer is that you can’t build this country working just by yourself.

You’ll need industrialists, financiers, technocrats, all sorts—what’s wrong with that?

It was a Golden Age for the Philippines under my regime—a shining sun of peace and order, discipline, economic development, industrial growth, tourism and foreign investment, patronage of the arts, entertainment, movie stars, boxing legends, beauty queens…the halcyon days of the Miss Universe Beauty Pageant, the Thrilla in Manila, the Manila International Film Festival…the Bolshoi Ballet, Dame Margot Fonteyn, tenor Placido Domingo, pianist Van Cliburn, “Ol’ Blue Eyes” Frank Sinatra…Brooke Shields, Franco Nero, Ben Kingsley, Robert Duvall, George Hamilton, Peter Ustinov, Priscilla Presley, Jeremy Irons…Smokin’ Joe Frazier, Muhammad Ali…Gloria Diaz, Margie Moran, Aurora Pijuan, Melanie Marquez, Amparo Muñoz…the good, the true, and the beautiful!

I don’t want to toot my horn, but I also can’t resist telling the truth.

I am the most decorated soldier in the history of the Philippines, a hero surpassing Rizal, Bonifacio, Aguinaldo…indeed, if I might say so, any other Filipino who has preceded and who will succeed me in Philippine history…I, who have endured endless defamation by the world at large, who expended his prodigious genius to serve his country unstintingly without any desire for personal gain, wish to be laid to rest only as a Filipino…hero among heroes, yes, bayani, because after all, the title goes with the real estate…

Muhammad Ali is not the greatest.

I am the greatest Philippine president. I am the greatest.        

Originally published in J Journal, Volume XI, No. 2 (Fall 2018), pages 3-11

REFERENCES

References are organized by topics.

MARCOS’ FAKE MEDALS

Washington Post

Sharkey, John. (January 24, 1986). New Doubts on Marcos’ War Role. The Washington Post. Retrieved from https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1986/01/24/new-doubts-on-marcos-war-role/40076661-fe6a-4695-88ea-1ee707e1c090/?utm_term=.c3fb56704fff

New York Times

Gerth, Jeff, and Brinkley, Joel. (January 23, 1986). Marcos’s Wartime Role Discredited in US Files. The New York Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/1986/01/23/world/marcos-s-wartime-role-discredited-in-us-files.html?pagewanted=all

Vera files

Ariate, Joel F., and Reyes, Miguel Paolo P. (July 2, 2016). File No. 60: Marcos’ Invented Heroism. Vera Files. Retrieved from http://verafiles.org/articles/file-no-60-marcos-invented-heroism

Ariate, Joel F., and Reyes, Miguel Paolo P. (July 2, 2016). File No. 60: A Family Affair. Vera Files. Retrieved from http://verafiles.org/articles/file-no-60-family-affair

Ariate, Joel F., and Reyes, Miguel Paolo P. (July 2, 2016). File No. 60: Debunking the Marcos War Myth. Vera Files. Retrieved from http://verafiles.org/articles/file-no-60-debunking-marcos-war-myth

Doyo series of articles

Doyo, Ma. Ceres P. (August 18, 2016). Marcos ‘war medals’ exposed, questioned (1). Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved from http://opinion.inquirer.net/96588/marcos-war-medals-exposed-questioned-1

Doyo, Ma. Ceres P. (August 25, 2016). Marcos ‘war medals’ exposed, questioned (2). Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved from http://opinion.inquirer.net/96781/marcos-war-medals-exposed-questioned-2

Doyo, Ma. Ceres P. (September 1, 2016). Marcos ‘war medals’ exposed, questioned (3). Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved from http://opinion.inquirer.net/96971/marcos-war-medals-exposed-questioned-3

Doyo, Ma. Ceres P. (September 8, 2016). Marcos ‘war medals’ exposed, questioned (Conclusion). Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved from http://opinion.inquirer.net/97159/marcos-war-medals-exposed-questioned

Professor Ricardo Jose

ABS-CBN News. (August 12, 2016). US Army: Marcos was arrested for anomalies involving money. YouTube. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r2cvpe2mHlM

Robles, Raissa. (May 17, 2011). Part 1 – Eminent Filipino war historian slams Marcos burial as a “hero.” Raissa Robles: Inside Philippine Politics & Beyond. Retrieved from https://www.raissarobles.com/2011/05/17/part-1-eminent-filipino-war-historian-slams-marcos-burial-as-a-hero/

Marcos’ fabricated war record

ABS-CBN News. (August 12, 2016). Marcos Claims ‘Ang Maharlika’ formed during Death March [Facebook post]. Retrieved from https://www.facebook.com/AngLagalagPH/videos/686267611530385/

Ang Lagalag. (August 10, 2016). Marcos’ Invented Heroism [Facebook post]. Retrieved from https://www.facebook.com/pierre.toussaint.338/posts/740699646071965

Gomez, Buddy. (August 20, 2015). Marcos’ ‘Major’ Escapade. ABS-CBN News. Retrieved from http://news.abs-cbn.com/blogs/opinions/08/19/15/marcos-major-escapade

Gomez, Buddy. (November 25, 2016). Opinion: Stolen Valor: Honoring a Scoundrel. ABS-CBN News. Retrieved from http://news.abs-cbn.com/blogs/opinions/11/24/16/opinion-stolen-valor-honoring-a-scoundrel

Hays, Jeffrey. (June 2015). Ferdinand Marcos Years. Facts and Details. Retrieved from http://factsanddetails.com/southeast-asia/Philippines/sub5_6b/entry-3843.html

Hot Manila. (August 9, 2016). Marcos the military fraud [Facebook post]. Retrieved from https://www.facebook.com/pierre.toussaint.338/posts/740245549450708

Remitio, Rex. (August 11, 2016). Historian: Marcos’ war exploits ‘full of lies.’ CNN Philippines. Retrieved from http://cnnphilippines.com/news/2016/08/10/Historian-says-Marcos-war-exploits-full-of-lies.html

REFERENCES (continued page 2)

Only two medals given in battle

Bondoc, Jarius. (April 29, 2011). Marcos medals: Only 2 of 33 given in battle. The Philippine Star Global. Retrieved from http://www.philstar.com/opinion/680306/marcos-medals-only-2-33-given-battle

Maynigo, Benjamin. (April 30, 2011). Marcos Fake Medals Redux (Part I). Asian Journal San Diego. Retrieved from http://asianjournalusa.com/marcos-fake-medals-redux-part-i-p10747-95.htm

Colonel Conrado Rigor, hero of Bessang Pass

TV Patrol. (August 15, 2016). Bayaning Bessang Pass [Facebook post]. Retrieved from https://www.facebook.com/tvpatrol.abscbn/videos/1078847702170618/

REGIME OF LIES

Philippine Daily Inquirer

Regime of lies [Editorial]. (September 22, 2014). Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved from http://opinion.inquirer.net/78674/regime-of-lies

Tasaday hoax

Pineda, DLS. (February 27, 2016). My favorite Marcos lie: The Tasaday. The Philippine Star Global. Retrieved from http://www.philstar.com/supreme/2016/02/27/1557062/my-favorite-marcos-lie-tasaday

“I may have committed many sins in my life, but stealing money from the people…from the government is not one of them.”

Randyboi Dt. (October 29, 2013). President Ferdinand Edralin Marcos. YouTube. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9bJAOzL83CI

“Don’t you think that two terms…is enough for any man?”

Agbayani, Eufemio, III. (December 1, 2016). Video mula sa dokumentaryong “Batas Militar” (1997) [Facebook post]. Retrieved from https://www.facebook.com/eufemio.agbayani/posts/10202586576580872

Marcos’ “body”

Baluyut, Rasec. (November 21, 2016). Asked if the Marcos body displayed is wax or not [Facebook post]. Retrieved from https://www.facebook.com/groups/1561746860801516/permalink/1596663573976511/

Esquamel, Paterno, II. (November 19, 2016). Marcos ‘body’ still in Batac mausoleum after burial. Rappler. Retrieved from http://www.rappler.com/nation/152941-marcos-body-batac-mausoleum-hero-burial

Montalvan, Antonio, III. (August 15, 2016). There is no refrigerated crypt. Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved from http://opinion.inquirer.net/96516/no-refrigerated-crypt

REFERENCES (continued page 3)

MARCOS’ PLUNDER

The Guardian

Davies, Nick. (May 7, 2016). The $10bn question: what happened to the Marcos millions? The Guardian. Retrieved from www.theguardian.com/world/2016/may/07/10bn-dollar-question-marcos-millions-nick-davies

Jeffrey Hays’ summary

Hays, Jeffrey. (June 2015). Marcos’s Plunder and Wealth. Facts and Details. Retrieved from http://factsanddetails.com/southeast-asia/Philippines/sub5_6b/entry-3845.html

StAR

The World Bank-UNODC. (July 20, 2017). Asset Recovery Watch: Case ID ARW-61. StAR: Stolen Asset Recovery Initiative. Retrieved from http://star.worldbank.org/corruption-cases/node/18497

ABS-CBN News

Ang Lagalag. (August 24, 2016). Marcos Wealth [Facebook post]. Retrieved from https://www.facebook.com/AngLagalagPH/videos/692592304231249/

Ang Lagalag. (October 5, 2016). PCGG Still Fighting Marcoses for Ill-Gotten Wealth in 248 Cases [Facebook post]. Retrieved from https://www.facebook.com/AngLagalagPH/videos/715152131975266/

Bantayog ng mga Bayani

Avila, Charlie. (October 25, 2015). Asian Journal: Chronology of the Marcos Plunder. Bantayog ng mga Bayani. Retrieved from http://www.bantayog.org/?p=1200

Marcos Revisionism. (November 7, 2015). In Bantayog ng mga Bayani.Retrieved from http://www.bantayog.org/?p=1261

Interaksyon (missing articles)

http://interaksyon.com/article/129865/should-late-dictator-be-buried-as-hero-marcoses-lavish-lifestyle-and-ill-gotten-wealth-revisited

http://interaksyon.com/article/134304/kinita-o-kinamkam–facts-minus-feelings-about-marcos-wealth-and-income

Caroline Kennedy

Kennedy, Caroline. (June 1987). The Marcoses and the Missing Filipino Millions. Caroline Kennedy: My Travels. Retrieved from https://anywhereiwander.com/2011/06/24/%e2%80%9cthe-marcoses-the-missing-filipino-millions%e2%80%9d/

Chronology

Ang Lagalag. (July 17, 2016). Marcos Loot by the Numbers [Facebook post]. Retrieved from https://www.facebook.com/AngLagalagPH/photos/a.206942782796206.1073741828.206869209470230/665037200320093/?type=3&hc_ref=ARQ65_0tYOv3mWoPhjL0Q1ojasqYyJUGJx7W6W4PByRnmhvoI_HM1aEzJiSnXe_pi_Q

Techniques used

Presidential Commission on Good Government. (May 6, 2016). How the Marcoses Exploited the Banking System. Retrieved from http://pcgg.gov.ph/how-the-marcoses-exploited-the-banking-system/

Roa, Ana. (September 29, 2014). Regime of Marcoses, cronies, kleptocracy. Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved from http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/641277/regime-of-marcoses-cronies-kleptocracy

Bataan Nuclear Power Plant

Ang Lagalag. (November 19, 2017). Remember Bataan Nuclear Power Plant [Facebook post]. Retrieved from https://web.facebook.com/AngLagalagPH/posts/944383032385507

Butterfield, Fox. (March 7, 1986). Filipinos Say Marcos Was Given Millions for ’76 Nuclear Contract. Yes, Ferdinand Marcos Ruined the Philippines. Retrieved from https://yesferdinandmarcosruinedthephilippines.wordpress.com/1986/03/07/filipinos-say-marcos-was-given-millions-for-76-nuclear-contract/

REFERENCES (continued page 4)

Marcos income discrepancy

G.R. No. 152154. (July 15, 2003). The LAWPHiL Project. Retrieved from http://www.lawphil.net/judjuris/juri2003/jul2003/gr_152154_2003.html

News5. (January 30, 2016). Editoryal. Retrieved from https://www.facebook.com/News5Everywhere/videos/584445255045566/

Imelda profligacy

Rogers, Lisa Waller. (March 31, 2010). Imelda Marcos: The “Mine” Girl. Lisa’s History Room. Retrieved from https://lisawallerrogers.com/tag/manila-international-film-festival/

Missing gold bullion

Fineman, Mark. (March 16, 1986). Marcos-Era Gold Reported Missing: Philippines Tracing Flow of Millions in Bullion, Cash and Illegal Profits. Los Angeles Times. Retrieved from http://articles.latimes.com/1986-03-16/news/mn-26520_1_gold-bullion/2

Hawaii loot

Plana, Ridel. (November 29, 2016). Imelda Marcos [Facebook post]. Retrieved from https://www.facebook.com/100014256548547/videos/127322561086295/

Tantiangco, Aya, and Bigtas, Jannielyn Ann. (February 25, 2016). What Marcoses brought to Hawaii after fleeing PHL in ’86: $717-M in cash, $124-M in deposit slips. GMA News Online. Retrieved from http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story/556744/news/specialreports/what-marcoses-brought-to-hawaii-after-fleeing-phl-in-86-717-m-in-cash-124-m-in-deposit-slips

Marcos’ plunder up to $10 billion

ABS-CBN News. (August 23, 2016). Nakaw na yaman ni Marcos, abot ng $10-bilyon. Retrieved from http://news.abs-cbn.com/video/focus/08/23/16/nakaw-na-yaman-ni-marcos-abot-ng-10-bilyon

1986 Guinness biggest thief

Laguatan, Ted. (June 30, 2013). Adding insult to injury: UP College named after Marcos’ Prime Minister. Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved from https://globalnation.inquirer.net/79187/adding-insult-to-injury-up-college-named-after-marcos-prime-minister

Suharto biggest kleptocrat

Worst kleptocrat of modern times.(2018). Guinness World Records. Retrieved from
http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/worst-kleptocrat-of-modern-times

Recovery efforts

Ang Lagalag. (October 5, 2016). PCGG Still Fighting Marcoses for Ill-Gotten Wealth in 248 Cases [Facebook post]. Retrieved from https://www.facebook.com/AngLagalagPH/videos/715152131975266/

De Castro, Andrew. (February 24, 2016). Opinion: Recovering from Plunder — Why the PCGG is Still Relevant Today. Pampubliko. Retrieved from http://www.pampubliko.com/opinion-articles/view/opinion-recovering-from-plunder-why-the-pcgg-is-still-relevant-today

Lustre, Philip M., Jr. (February 25, 2016). Recovering Marcos’ ill-gotten wealth: After 30 years, what? Rappler. Retrieved from http://www.rappler.com/newsbreak/in-depth/123664-recovering-marcos-ill-gotten-wealth-30-years

Mateo, Janvic. (February 24, 2016). P170-B ill-gotten wealth recovered from Marcoses, cronies. The Philippine Star Global. Retrieved from http://www.philstar.com/headlines/2016/02/25/1556605/p170-b-ill-gotten-wealth-recovered-marcoses-cronies

PH gov’t wins ill-gotten wealth case vs Marcoses, Alfonso Lim’s family. (January 4, 2016). In Rappler. Retrieved from http://www.rappler.com/nation/117880-pcgg-wins-case-marcos-alfonso-lim-taggat-industries

Compromising with Marcos’ cronies

Lustre, Philip M., Jr. (February 27, 2016). Search for Marcos’ wealth: Compromising with cronies. Rappler. Retrieved from http://www.rappler.com/newsbreak/in-depth/123667-marcos-cronies-compromise

U.S. government seizes $1 billion of Marcos’ properties in 2012

Cabacungan, Gil C. (November 21, 2012). US officials seize Marcos properties worth P1B. Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved from https://globalnation.inquirer.net/57227/us-officials-seize-marcos-properties-worth-p1b

Marcos family complicit in father’s plunder

Villanueva, Susan. (March 16, 2016). Para sa Ating Kaalaman [Facebook post]. Retrieved from https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10209258686413569&set=a.1081886256748.14876.1514076134&type=3

REFERENCES (continued page 5)

Imee’s secret offshore trust

Ang Lagalag. (July 22, 2016). Offshore Trust Account? [Facebook post]. Retrieved from https://www.facebook.com/206869209470230/videos/667415076748972/

Landingin, Roel, and Ilagan, Karol. (April 2, 2013). Ferdinand Marcos’ Daughter Tied to Offshore Trust in Caribbean. International Consortium of Investigative Journalists. Retrieved from https://www.icij.org/offshore/ferdinand-marcos-daughter-tied-offshore-trust-caribbean

Landingin, Roel, and Ilagan, Karol. (April 4, 2013). Imee Marcos tied to secret offshore trust. Rappler. Retrieved from http://www.rappler.com/nation/25473-imee-marcos-tied-to-secret-offshore-trust

Samasa Kontra Mandarambong. (July 10, 2016). PCIJ Report Links Imee Marcos, Children to Secret Offshore Trust [Facebook post]. Retrieved from https://www.facebook.com/samasakm/videos/1225019040864937/

Bongbong and the Arelma account

Ang Lagalag. (July 13, 2016). Fact: Court records would show… [Facebook post]. Retrieved from https://www.facebook.com/AngLagalagPH/photos/a.206942782796206.1073741828.206869209470230/662715367218943/?type=3&hc_ref=ARSumkxRFt_4m9dTKse8X2kk5FKJk-GO6M5jLc5aJlZbvbu9OzssWo8nzws0bMRX9Ok

AngLagalag. (July 16, 2016). Ibalik ang mga Ninakaw [Facebook post]. Retrieved from https://www.facebook.com/AngLagalagPH/photos/a.206942782796206.1073741828.206869209470230/662992537191226/?type=3&hc_ref=ARSR3grfS13DA5pKLyoBh-FGoOBi_Q-4rtmZDGLdDP0aHrB0TbyLN9BAaw7sh5ipXIc

Marcus V. (April 15, 2016). PCGG: Bongbong, not the gov’t, blocking awards for martial law victims. Kicker Daily News. Retrieved from http://kickerdaily.com/posts/2016/04/pcgg-bongbong-not-the-govt-blocking-awards-martial-law-victims/

Alan Cayetano’s 2016 debate with Bongbong

Gonzales, Joseph. (July 17, 2016). Pilipinas Debates 2016 [Facebook post]. Retrieved from https://www.facebook.com/pierre.toussaint.338/posts/729111380564125

Greatest thief stole his own burial

Gonzales, Joseph. (November 23, 2016). The greatest thief has even stolen his own burial [Facebook post]. Retrieved from https://www.facebook.com/pierre.toussaint.338/posts/800360843439178

FINAL MARCOS JUDGMENTS

TV5 Aksyon

News5. (January 30, 2016). Editoryal. Retrieved from https://www.facebook.com/News5Everywhere/videos/584445255045566/

Marcos kleptocracy

Roa, Ana. (September 29, 2014). Regime of Marcoses, cronies, kleptocracy. Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved from http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/641277/regime-of-marcoses-cronies-kleptocracy

Timelines

Agence France-Presse. (April 11, 2011). Court orders Imelda Marcos to repay funds. Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved from http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/2810/court-orders-imelda-marcos-to-repay-funds

CNN Library. (June 23, 2017). Imelda Marcos Fast Facts. CNN. Retrieved from http://edition.cnn.com/2015/10/09/asia/imelda-marcos-fast-facts/

Garcia, Myles A. (2016). Thirty Years Later…Catching Up with the Marcos-Era Crimes. MAG Publishing. Retrieved from https://books.google.com.ph/books?id=q9zbCwAAQBAJ&pg=PT60&lpg=PT60&dq=philippine+supreme+court+marcos+ill+gotten+wealth+civil+cases&source=bl&ots=Emc0PLL8e_&sig=e864mSE-nwKBd_dlFWYYM6sk3MM&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjNsf73g_vQAhXJI5QKHVsUBdI4ChDoAQg_MAc#v=onepage&q=philippine%20supreme%20court%20marcos%20ill%20gotten%20wealth%20civil%20cases&f=false

Rmn Iloilo. (November 19, 2016). Fast Facts: Swiss Accounts ni Marcos [Facebook post]. Retrieved from https://www.facebook.com/rmniloilo/posts/1834736470075301

REFERENCES (continued page 6)

The Philippines

The Supreme Court twice held Marcos guilty of ill-gotten wealth involving the total amount of US$664 million.

Flores, Mikhail Franz E. (April 2, 2014). Decision to forfeit alleged ill-gotten wealth of the Marcos family upheld. BusinessWorld Online. Retrieved from http://www.bworldonline.com/content.php?section=Nation&title=decision-to-forfeit-alleged-ill-gotten-wealth-of-the-marcos-family-upheld&id=85550

G.R. No. 152154. (July 15, 2003). Supreme Court of the Philippines. Retrieved from http://sc.judiciary.gov.ph/jurisprudence/2012/april2012/189434.htm

G.R. Nos. 189434 and 189505. (April 25, 2012). Supreme Court of the Philippines. Retrieved from http://sc.judiciary.gov.ph/jurisprudence/2003/jul2003/152154.htm

In no less than 20 cases, the Supreme Court ruled that Marcos was a dictator and caused massive economic hardships to the country.

Rifareal, Doris Lois. (July 15, 2016). No to Marcos Burial in LNMB [Facebook post]. Retrieved from https://www.facebook.com/doris.rifareal/posts/1453888011305845?pnref=story

USA

Ang Lagalag. (July 15, 2016). Ang Katotohanan [Facebook post]. Retrieved from https://www.facebook.com/pierre.toussaint.338/posts/728462140629049

In RE Estate of Ferdinand Marcos cites 1995 and 1996 Hawaii judgments

In re: Estate of Ferdinand Marcos Human Rights Litigation. (August 22, 1996). FindLaw for Legal Professionals. Retrieved from http://caselaw.findlaw.com/us-9th-circuit/1120999.html

Switzerland

Ang Lagalag. (December 26, 2016). Recovered Marcos Wealth [Facebook post]. Retrieved from https://www.facebook.com/AngLagalagPH/posts/764781047012374?comment_id=766214310202381&notif_t=share_reply&notif_id=1482969144590644

Singapore

Cayabyab, Marc Jayson, and JDS. (January 3, 2014). Singapore court awards $23M in Marcos money to PNB. GMA News Online. Retrieved from http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story/342344/money/singapore-court-awards-23m-in-marcos-money-to-pnb#sthash.reUTtxLT.dpuf

MARTIAL LAW STATISTICS

Killed, tortured, imprisoned, salvaged

Ang Lagalag. (July 14, 2016). Myth: Only communists believe tales of abuses… [Facebook post]. Retrieved from https://www.facebook.com/206869209470230/photos/a.206942782796206.1073741828.206869209470230/662944813862665/?type=3&pnref=story

Desaparecidos

Ang Lagalag. (August 29, 2016). Recorded Number of Desaperecidos under the Marcos Regime [Facebook post]. Retrieved from https://www.facebook.com/206869209470230/photos/a.206942782796206.1073741828.206869209470230/693991997424613/?type=3&pnref=story

Fact checking total killed

Ang Lagalag. (July 16, 2016). 3,257: Fact checking the Marcos killings, 1975-1985 [Facebook post]. Retrieved from https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=664495750374238&id=206869209470230&substory_index=0

Hawaii class action suit victims

Cruz, Tonyo. (August 9, 2016). 9,539 reasons [Facebook post]. Retrieved from https://www.facebook.com/tonyocruz/posts/10154365638039326

Human Rights Victims’ Claims Board

Ang Lagalag. (November 2, 2017). Unfinished Justice [Facebook post]. Retrieved from https://www.facebook.com/AngLagalagPH/posts/935580826599061

Freedom of the press

Ang Lagalag. (September 15, 2016). 3,257: Nung panahon ng Batas Militar… [Facebook post]. Retrieved from https://www.facebook.com/AngLagalagPH/photos/a.206942782796206.1073741828.206869209470230/704501216373691/?type=3&hc_ref=ARSkTaM_XKi8kW9ILpslJBaWB2efSE2NEyLr8a2kVHWvNvg-35rcV6ZXy5CwXGZuVVw

Life under Marcos: A Fact Check

Ang Lagalag. (August 10, 2016). Life under Marcos: A Fact Check [Facebook post]. Retrieved from https://www.facebook.com/206869209470230/videos/685314144959065/

REFERENCES (continued page 7)

Major martial law myths

League of Filipino Students – UP Diliman. (September 2015). Major Myths about Martial Law [Facebook post]. Retrieved from https://www.facebook.com/pg/lfsupdiliman/photos/?tab=album&album_id=1685701508329120

Marcos’ accomplishments

President Ferdinand E. Marcos’ Accomplishments. (October 21, 2014). In Amazing Philippines. Retrieved from http://www.theamazingpilipinas.com/2014/10/president-ferdinand-e-marcos.html

1986 EDSA REVOLUTION

Five Marcos Myths

Marcos Trolloyalists. (November 16, 2016). 5 Pernicious Marcos Myths [Facebook post]. Retrieved from https://www.facebook.com/MarcosTrolloyalists/photos/a.1114703431920699.1073741827.1114700075254368/1271048609619513/?type=3&pnref=story

1986 “snap” elections

Lustre, Philip, Jr. (February 7, 2017). The 1986 ‘Snap’ Presidential Elections [Facebook post]. Retrieved from https://web.facebook.com/groups/1561746860801516/permalink/1626386557670879/

Chronology of a Revolution

Santiago, Angela-Stuart. (December 1, 1995). Chronology of a Revolution: Day 1, February 22. Retrieved from http://edsarevolution.com/day1.htm

Santiago, Angela-Stuart. (December 1, 1995). Chronology of a Revolution: Day 2, February 23. Retrieved from http://edsarevolution.com/day2.htm

Santiago, Angela-Stuart. (December 1, 1995). Chronology of a Revolution: Day 3, February 24. Retrieved from http://edsarevolution.com/day3.htm

Santiago, Angela-Stuart. (December 1, 1995). Chronology of a Revolution: Day 4, February 25. Retrieved from http://edsarevolution.com/day4.htm

Marcos’ last day

Lustre, Philip, Jr. (February 25, 2016). Ferdinand Marcos: His last day at the Palace. CNN Philippines. Retrieved from http://cnnphilippines.com/news/2015/02/25/Ferdinand-Marcos-Malaca%C3%B1an-last-day.html

ECONOMIC MISMANAGEMENT

“Golden Age” myth

ABS-CBN News. (September 23, 2017). The Philippine Economy during the Marcos Years. Retrieved from https://web.facebook.com/abscbnNEWS/videos/10155552751740168/

Alejo, Mel. (November 27, 2016). In One Minute: Ferdinand Marcos by the Numbers [Facebook post]. Retrieved from https://web.facebook.com/mel.alejo.info/videos/10202076323585088/?_rdc=1&_rdr

Ang Lagalag. (July 26, 2016). Malakas at Maganda: Marcos Reign Myth-Making, and Deception in History [Facebook post]. Retrieved from https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=665703840253429&id=206869209470230&substory_index=0

Aquino, Lorelei. (November 18, 2016). Check Your Facts! (Pro-Marcos Arguments and Claims Quashed). Mom on a Mission. Retrieved from https://loreleiaquino.wordpress.com/2016/11/18/check-your-facts-pro-marcos-arguments-and-claims-quashed/

Canlas, KC. (February 26, 2016). Look: Martial Law in Numbers. When in Manila. Retrieved from http://www.wheninmanila.com/look-martial-law-in-numbers/

REFERENCES (continued page 8)

de Dios, Emmanuel S. (November 15, 2015). The Truth about the Economy under the Marcos Regime. Yes, Ferdinand Marcos Ruined the Philippines. Retrieved from https://yesferdinandmarcosruinedthephilippines.wordpress.com/2015/11/15/the-truth-about-the-economy-under-the-marcos-regime/

de Ynchausti, Nik. (September 24, 2016). The Tallies of Martial Law. Esquire. Retrieved from https://www.esquiremag.ph/politics/martial-law-tallies-a1576-20160924-lfrm4

Gil, Hazel. (June 5, 2016). The Martial Law Misconceptions of Filipino Millennials: It’s Time to Open Our Eyes. Affinity. Retrieved from http://affinitymagazine.us/2016/06/05/the-martial-law-misconceptions-of-filipino-millennials-its-time-to-open-our-eyes/

Guido, Joseph, and de los Reyes, Che. (September 21, 2017). The best of times? Data debunk Marcos’s economic ‘golden years.’ ABS-CBN News. Retrieved from http://news.abs-cbn.com/business/09/21/17/the-best-of-times-data-debunk-marcoss-economic-golden-years

History with Lourd. (September 23, 2015). History Presents Martial Law Myths Busted [Facebook post]. Retrieved from https://web.facebook.com/historywithlourd/videos/990790937650045/?_rdc=1&_rdr

Kontrabando. (September 24, 2015). Mag-isip at magsaliksik, mga mangmang [Facebook post]. Retrieved from https://web.facebook.com/News5Kontrabando/videos/1640805172863926/

Mendoza, Ronald U. (February 26, 2016). Ferdinand Marcos’ economic disaster. Rappler. Retrieved from http://www.rappler.com/thought-leaders/123773-marcos-economic-disaster

Punongbayan, JC, and Mandrilla, Kevin. (March 5, 2016). Marcos years marked ‘golden age’ of PH economy? Look at the data. Rappler. Retrieved from http://www.rappler.com/views/imho/124682-marcos-economy-golden-age-philippines

Rappler.com. (November 26, 2016). Marcos ‘stole’ our future – decades of development and potential incomes. Meme Buster. Retrieved from http://memebuster.net/marcos-stole-future-decades-development-potential-incomes/

San Agustin, Boom. (June 1, 2013). Which Philippine President Caused the Downfall of the Philippines’ Economy? Our Knowledge Consulting Services (Asia). Retrieved from http://www.ourknowledge.asia/blog-posts–articles/which-philippine-president-caused-the-downfall-of-the-philippines-economy

Crony capitalism

Ang Lagalag. (February 8, 2017). World-Class Bureaucrat Capitalism [Facebook post]. Retrieved from https://web.facebook.com/AngLagalagPH/posts/788695194620959:0

Bunachita, Jose Santino S. (November 30, 2016). Corruption: A Marcos ‘legacy.’ Cebu Daily News. Retrieved from http://cebudailynews.inquirer.net/114260/corruption-marcos-legacy

Pilipinas Kong Mahal. (June 15, 2016). No to Marcos Burial at Libingan ng mga Bayani [Facebook post]. Retrieved from https://www.facebook.com/PilipinasKongMinamahal/videos/944309302348374/

Roa, Ana. (September 29, 2014). Regime of Marcoses, cronies, kleptocracy. Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved from http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/641277/regime-of-marcoses-cronies-kleptocracy

Edifice complex

Afinidad-Bernardo, Deni Rose M. (2016). Edifice Complex. The Philippine Star Global. Retrieved from http://newslab.philstar.com/31-years-of-amnesia/building-spree

Ang Lagalag. (March 21, 2017). The Truth: Marcos bankrupted the Philippines [Facebook post]. Retrieved from https://web.facebook.com/AngLagalagPH/posts/812017438955401:0

Martial Law Museum. (n.d.). Edifice Complex: Building on the Backs of the Filipino People. Retrieved from https://martiallawmuseum.ph/magaral/edifice-complex-building-on-the-backs-of-the-filipino-people/

Manila Film Center

Manahan, Tats. (November 2015). The enduring nightmare of the Manila Film Center. Rogue. Retrieved from http://rogue.ph/enduring-nightmare-manila-film-center/

REFERENCES (continued page 9)

The Marcos debt

GMANews.TV. (April 7, 2007). Taxpayers to shoulder Marcos debt until 2025 – Ibon. GMA News Online. Retrieved from http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story/37314/news/nation/taxpayers-to-shoulder-marcos-debt-until-2025-ibon

Tadem, Eduardo C. (November 24, 2016). The Marcos debt. Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved from http://opinion.inquirer.net/99481/the-marcos-debt

Behest loans under Marcos

Araneta, Sandy. (April 20, 2006). PCGG uncovers 130 behest loans worth P50 billion. The Philippine Star Global. Retrieved from http://www.philstar.com:8080/headlines/332342/pcgg-uncovers-130-behest-loans-worth-p50-billion

Marcos destroyed the spirit of the Filipino entrepreneur

Gonzales, Joseph. (July 15, 2016). He destroyed the spirit of the Filipino entrepreneur [Facebook post]. Retrieved from
https://www.facebook.com/pierre.toussaint.338/posts/728290823979514

ARGUMENTS AGAINST MARCOS’ BURIAL AT LNMB

No brainer

The Coalition Against the Marcos Burial in Libingan ng mga Bayani. (September 3, 2016). To bury or not to bury in Libingan, this is a no-brainer. Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved from http://opinion.inquirer.net/97011/bury-not-bury-libingan-no-brainer

Letter to Bongbong

Trustees, Bantayog ng mga Bayani.(September 8, 2015). An Open Letter to Senator Ferdinand ‘Bong Bong’ Marcos, Jr. Bantayog ng mga Bayani.Retrieved from
http://www.bantayog.org/an-open-letter-to-senator-ferdinand-bong-bong-marcos-jr/

Pride of the living

Adriano, L., Cardinoza, G., Visaya, Villamor, Jr., and Sotelo, Y. (August 18, 2016). ‘Let Marcos rest in peace.’ Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved from http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/807228/let-marcos-rest-in-peace

Adolph Hitler

Pangilinan, Kiko. (August 7, 2016). We can certainly choose to forgive Adolph Hitler… [Facebook post]. Retrieved from https://www.facebook.com/kikopangilinan/posts/10153933645936936

Crime pays

Garcia, Ed. (June 14, 2016). They shoot journalists, don’t they? Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved from http://opinion.inquirer.net/95202/shoot-journalists-dont#ixzz4E5Q8dJKt

Filipinos forget

Lustre, Philip, Jr. (February 7, 2017). The 1986 ‘Snap’ Presidential Elections [Facebook post]. Retrieved from https://www.facebook.com/events/1122772611097733/permalink/1178436218864705/

Against historical revisionism

Ang Lagalag. (July 13, 2016). Constantly True: Ateneo Against Marcos Revisionism [Facebook post]. Retrieved from https://www.facebook.com/AngLagalagPH/posts/662162883940858

Negros victims

Rappler.com. (August 20, 2016). No to hero’s burial: Negrenses cite sugar plunder, killings, famine. Rappler. Retrieved from http://www.rappler.com/nation/143607-no-hero-burial-marcos-negros-occidental

Handog ng Pilipino sa Mundo

Samasa Kontra Mandarambong. (May 5, 2016). Handog ng Pilipino sa Mundo [Facebook post]. Retrieved from https://www.facebook.com/samasakm/videos/1182065811826927/

REFERENCES (continued page 10)

APOLOGIA PRO MARCOS

Starter pack

Robles, Alan. (November 29, 2016). Opinion: Introducing: the Marcos Apologist Starter Pack. ABS-CBN News. Retrieved from http://news.abs-cbn.com/blogs/opinions/11/29/16/opinion-introducing-the-marcos-apologist-starter-pack

8 millennial myths

Ang Lagalag. (January 19, 2016). 8 Things Millennials Get Wrong about the Marcos Regime [Facebook post]. Retrieved from https://www.facebook.com/AngLagalagPH/photos/a.206942782796206.1073741828.206869209470230/574057836084697/?type=3

Bongbong

Almario, Manuel F. (February 27, 2011). The dismal record of the Marcos regime. The Philippine Star Global. Retrieved from http://laonlaan.blogspot.com/2011/04/national-treasure-saga-of-marcos-loot.html

Duterte

Dancel, Raul. (August 7, 2016). Philippines’ Duterte says former dictator Marcos can be buried at heroes’ cemetery. The Straits Times. Retrieved from http://www.straitstimes.com/asia/se-asia/philippines-duterte-gives-go-ahead-for-former-dictator-marcos-burial-at-heroes-cemetery

Robles, Alan. (March 25, 2014). Marcos loyalists online. Hot Manila. Retrieved from http://www.hotmanila.ph/content/tyranny-and-dictatorship/marcos-loyalists-online

CULTURAL LIFE UNDER MARCOS

Agence France-Presse. (September 4, 2009). Iconic Philippine cultural center a Marcos legacy. ABS-CBN News. Retrieved from http://news.abs-cbn.com/features/09/24/09/iconic-philippine-cultural-center-marcos-legacy

Hollie, Pamela G. (February 7, 1982). Manila Film Festival Proves All-Out Spectacular. The New York Times. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/1982/02/07/movies/manila-film-festival-proves-all-out-spectacular.html

Miguel, Valerie. (January 19, 2013). Martial Law (1972-1985): Philippine Literature, Culture, and Music. Music, Media, and Culture. Retrieved from http://musicmediaandculture.blogspot.com/2013/01/martial-law-1972-1985-philippine.html

Moral, Cheche V. (September 27, 2015). The Marcos years: ‘Golden age’ of PH fashion. Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved from http://lifestyle.inquirer.net/208044/the-marcos-years-golden-age-of-ph-fashion/

Curfew a throwback to Marcos era

by MLC | Nov 29, 2017 | Martial Law Stories

Source: PCIJ

LAWYERS are denouncing the imposition of the five-hour curfew following the standoff between mutineers facing coup d’etat charges and government forces in Makati City this afternoon, saying it was unlawful and a clear violation of the Constitution.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo declared a curfew imposed from 12 midnight to 5 a.m. Friday. The directive covers Metro Manila and Regions 3 and 4-A.

Senator Antonio Trillanes and Brig. Gen. Danilo Lim, both on trial for the mutiny at the Oakwood Apartments in 2003, led a daylong uprising that ended around 5:30 p.m. today. Both demanded the resignation of Arroyo over the “illegitimacy” of her presidency and the abuses of her government, among which are the unabated extrajudicial killings, the series of executive proclamations like EO 464 and PP 1017, and the “deliberate refusal or failure” of the government to probe and hold to account persons involved in controversies such as the “Hello,Garci” scandal and the fertilizer funds scam.

“The curfew imposition is unlawful and contrary to the Constitution — our right to liberty, our right to travel, our constitutionally guaranteed rights that cannot be curtailed or disregarded by executive order. The curfew is an illegal act,” Senate Majority Leader Francis Pangilinan said in a statement.

Human rights lawyer Theodore Te of the Free Legal Assistance Group also lambasted the rather literal interpretation of “police power” by the police in imposing the curfew. As an inherent and extraordinary power of the State, Te said police power is exercised through legislation. “A curfew imposed without any law or legal order is illegal and unconstitutional.”

Lawyer and University of the Philippines professor Marichu Lambino likewise said the curfew is unconstitutional, and therefore void, even urging citizens to defy it.

Section 6, Article III of the Philippine Constitution states: The liberty of abode and of changing the same within the limits prescribed by law shall not be impaired except upon lawful order of the court. Neither shall the right to travel be impaired except in the interest of national security, public safety, or public health, as may be provided by law.

According to Lambino, this means that without legislation, the President has no authority to curtail freedom of movement. Also, such a directive needs to be in writing and has to be published. Pangilinan added that even curfews imposed in town and barangays need local ordinance.

“She’s worse than (Ferdinand) Marcos. At least he had the decency to write it down,” said Lambino. Shortly after Marcos placed the country under martial law in September 21, 1972, Marcos imposed a curfew, ordered arrests, banned public rallies, closed all mass media facilities, and ordered the takeover of public utilities.

The 1987 Constitution is supposed to be a safeguard against any similar abuses. In Section 18, Article VII of the current constitution, the President is vested with three types of powers — call out the armed forces to prevent or suppress lawless violence, invasion or rebellion; suspend the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus; or place the Philippines or any part thereof under martial law.

“(T)he President has not done any of these,” Lambino said.

Lawyer Neri Colmenares, Counsels for the Defense of Liberties (Codal) spokesperson, said that without a legal basis for the imposed curfew, any arrests are therefore illegal.

But since tomorrow, November 30, is a national holiday, there will be no courts where one can contest the arrests and the imposition of an extended curfew should authorities say that its “post-operations” have not been completed.

It is not clear what activities are to be conducted under the “post-operations” of the Philippine National Police.

Stipulated under the curfew guidelines are the following:

• The curfew covers Metro Manila, Central Luzon and Southern Tagalog
• Curfew time is between 12 midnight and 5 a.m.
• Curfew will cover all individuals who are residents and workers in the National Capital Region, Central Luzon and Southern Tagalog and those visiting or traveling these regions

Exemptions:

• Transporters of products and services
• People going to airports
• Emergency cases
• Drivers of public utility vehicles
• Doctors and other health care practitioners on duty
• Police and military personnel on duty
• Emergency responders, such as ambulance personnel, paramedics, firemen
• Night-shift workers
• Legitimate media workers
• Provincial bus passengers traveling to regions under curfew
• Members of the diplomatic corps

Checkpoints will also be put up while carrying of firearms during the curfew hours will not be permitted. Violators will be released after curfew hours. Interior Secretary Ronaldo Puno said that while the authorities had already arrested those who participated in the Manila Pen siege, the police needs to scour the streets for plotters disguised in civilian clothes.

“Most of these soldiers or former soldiers who have been arrested were dressed in civilian clothes. When they hooked up with General (Danilo) Lim and (Senator Antonio) Trillanes they changed their garb and brought out weapons. So we want to make sure (that it will no longer be repeated),” Puno said.

Deputy presidential spokesperson Anthony Golez likewise assured that “this is not a reliving of martial law; this is just to complete post-operations.”

SHOW OF FORCE

by MLC | Aug 7, 2017 | Martial Law Stories

By Jonathan de Santos

Source: Philstar.com NewsLab

The Philippines was not a regional military power during the Marcos years but neither was it the weakest, with the Armed Forces of the Philippines saying it “was one of the most well-equipped militaries in Asia” at that time.

According to a 2004 paper by Andrew Tan for the Institute of Defence and Strategic Studies Singapore, the militaries of Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines “could be described as militarily weak, with small numbers of major weapon systems.”

Tan, a strategic analyst who specializes in defense and security studies, cites “The Military Balance 1974-75” for a snapshot of military capabilities of Southeast Asian states in 1974 that shows the Philippines trailing Thailand in personnel, 274,000 to 396,000.

The AFP was also behind the militaries of Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and Singapore in combat aircraft. The Philippine Air Force had 36 aircraft units in 1974, putting at par with Malaysia.

Thailand had 105 combat aircraft. Laos, which was fighting a civil war at the time, had 85 planes, with “most of the combat aircraft consisted of US-supplied T-28 ground attack aircraft,” wrote Tan. Singapore had 65 and Cambodia had 64.

By the time Marcos became president, the Air Force’s moment in the sun: The jet-equipped Limbas Squadron’s stint as part of the UN Peacekeeping Force in the Congo was two years in the past. The Philippine Expeditionary Force to Korea had been home for around a decade.

It is true, however, that Marcos significantly invested in making the military more powerful. Journalist and Manila Times columnist Rigoberto Tiglao wrote in “Dictatorship and Revolution: Roots of People’s Power” that Marcos “institutionalized the military as a locus of power in Philippine society.”

Standing on the platform, from LEFT to RIGHT: Secretary of National Defense Ernesto Mata, President Ferdinand E. Marcos and Chief of Staff Manuel T. Yan circa 1968. General Yan is the youngest AFP Chief of Staff at the age of 48.
Photo by Gov.ph/National Library of the Philippines.

By 1975, Tiglao wrote, the AFP had around 250,000 troops by the end of 1975 from just 60,000 personnel in 1972. The military budget also jumped to P4 billion in 1976 from P880 million in 1972.

While Marcos gave the AFP more money and equipment, that came with a price: Loyalty to him as loyalty to the republic.

As commander-in-chief, he had the final say in promotions and in extensions of service, and he managed to fill the military leadership with officers from the Ilocos region, his turf.

Tiglao writes that eighteen of 22 generals in the Philippine Constabulary were from the Ilocos region and its Metropolitan Command was heavily “Ilocanized”.

At the head of Marcos’ military machine was Gen. Fabian Ver, a close relative who had control of an intensive intelligence network that included the Presidential Guard Battalion, Intelligence Service of the AFP and the National Intelligence Service Authority.

The Presidential Guard, precursor of the modern Presidential Security Group, was headed by Irwin Ver, the AFP chief-of-staff’s son.

More significant than the increase in personnel, money and equipment is what the strengthened military was used for: What Tiglao calls “one of the bloodiest eras in Philippine history.” He notes the use of hamletting—clearing an area of an alleged rebel presence and maintaining a military presence to keep them out—torture, and summary killings.

“For the first time, the country acquired dubious distinction of being one of the most notorious violators of human rights,” Tiglao also wrote.

A board created to process the reparation claims of human rights victims under the Marcos administration is still going through the applications of around 75,000 victims.

It did not help that militarization in the provinces was done through paramilitary units with members recruited from among local toughs.

“Rape, summary executions, salvaging and torture of suspected rebels were common occurrences where these groups operated,” Tiglao added.

Power behind the ‘power’: US military presence and aid

The biggest weapon in Marcos’ arsenal, however, was backing from the US, which had military bases in Clark and Subic until 1992.

The AFP acknowledges this on its website, saying its strength during the Cold War “was because of a tight diplomatic-relationship with the United States in battling the threat of Communism.”

Tan, in 2004, said “the Philippines was able to circumvent the problem of external defense through the security alliance with the United States. The huge US basing facilities at Subic Bay and Clark Air Base provided a solid guarantee to Philippine external security and also an effective deterrent against any external threat.”

President Richard Nixon and President Ferdinand Marcos of Philippines on April 1, 1969.
Photo by AP/Charles Tasnadi

“Throughout the Cold War, Philippine outposts were major staging areas for land, sea, and air forces during the Vietnam War. At the height of US deployment in the 1980s, there were between thirteen and fifteen thousand military personnel and twelve thousand Department of Defense civilians based in the Philippines,” US-based policy think tank Council on Foreign Relations wrote in 2016.

US military aid to the Philippines increased from .2 million between 1970 and 1972 to .8 million between 1973 and 1975. Tiglao noted that in 1973, “there was a 100-percent increase amounting to .3 million compared to the previous year’s level of .5 million.”

That aid included the acquisition on credit of Vietnam War-tested military equipment from M16s to M-113 armored personnel carriers, helicopters and transport planes.

An allegedly leaked State Department cable from 1978 suggests that US government employees edited a human rights report on the Philippines because it might come out “at a particularly sensitive or critical point in base negotiations.”

The cable, posted by WikiLeaks, said that a US office in Manila “used a fine-tooth comb to remove/alter phrases which would likely be jumped upon by leadership, media or public as unduly emotional.” Among those phrases was a reference to a monopoly of power by Marcos.

In fact, Marcos raised the bases issue as late into his administration as Feb. 17, 1986, when the US said it might reconsider aid to the Philippines over concerns that the elections had been tainted.

“If that happens, we’ll have to talk about renegotiating the bases,” a Los Angeles Times report quoted him as saying. “… even without the question of aid, we have to renegotiate those bases anyway.”

Marcos “often uses the bases as pawns when attempting to gain leverage in disputes with the United States.”

The same report noted that Marcos “often uses the bases as pawns when attempting to gain leverage in disputes with the United States, though he never has threatened to shut them down.”

Aurora de Dios wrote in “Dictatorship and Revolution” that the US had been content to support Marcos “as long as he persisted in an indomitable counterinsurgency policy perennially backed by a burgeoning counterpart AFP budget.”

With a happy smile, Capt. David E. Baker of Westbury, N.Y., salutes the military brass on hand to see the released POWs depart for the U.S. from Clark Air Base in the Philippines, Feb. 16, 1973.
Photo by AP

Two decades in, however, the US felt that “despite continued, even doubled military assistance to the dictatorship, the insurgency problem worsened, political forces polarized and Marcos ineluctably compromised US interests.”

That, as well as mounting international notoriety and concern over human rights violations, made support for the regime untenable.

“What gradually appalled the US government was that the dictatorship’s own resolute counterinsurgency effort had simply backfired under the Marcos-Ver [Fabian, AFP chief] leadership with political corruption and deprofessionalization of the AFP cultivated deliberately by personal loyalty and patronage.”

Tan, writing in 2004 about the AFP in the late 1990s, said that legacy lasted long after the regime was overthrown.

The so-called regional military power had been hobbled by the AFP’s “political factionalism and involvement in domestic politics, a trend encouraged by Marcos and which later led to a breakdown in cohesiveness during the Aquino era from 1987.” — Philstar.com NewsLab

MONEY TRAIL: THE MARCOS BILLIONS

by MLC | Aug 7, 2017 | Martial Law Stories

William Saunders and Jane Ryan

The first couple used false identities in opening their first ever bank account with Credit Suisse in Zurich—”William Saunders” for the former president and “Jane Ryan” for his wife Imelda in 1968, four years before the declaration of Martial Law in the Philippines. The presidential salary then was around $5,600, yet his Swiss bank account had a balance of $950,000.

In 1986 when Marcos was deposed, the first law that Corazon Aquino signed created the Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG), mandating it to recover all ill-gotten wealth accumulated by ousted dictator, his immediate family, relatives, subordinates and close associates in the Philippines or abroad. Since its establishment, the agency has recovered at least P170 billion (nearly $3.6 billion) in cash.

Switzerland

In an article titled “Recovery of the Marcos Assets,” former PCGG Commissioner Jaime Bautista recalls that the William Saunders-Jane Ryan accounts were closed by 1970 but its balances were transferred to the Xandy Foundation, which was later transferred to Fides Trust Co. and then to Avertina Foundation. This is only one of several foreign foundations that the Marcoses established as supposed cover-up for their money deposited in the Swiss banking system.

The Swiss Federal Supreme Court ruled that the secret Marcos account hidden in Swiss banks had criminal provenance. The high court ordered its transfer to the Republic of the Philippines and placed it under escrow with the Philippine National Bank. In 1998, Switzerland turned over to the Philippines bank deposits worth $627 million in accordance with the Swiss Federal Supreme Court.

The Marcos foundations appealed to prevent the transfer of bank deposits to the Philippines but the Swiss Federal Supreme Court ruled that the foundations were mere creations of Marcos and that they had participated in his bad faith.

Singapore

In 2014, Singapore’s Court of Appeals ruled in favor of the Philippine National Bank over the $23 million seized from the estate of the late strongman. Singapore’s Straits Times reported that the funds comprised of $16.8 million and £4.2 million formed part of the Swiss bank accounts.

This ruling, however, was bad news for 9,539 human rights victims of the Marcos era. The court rejected the victims’ claims as the documents did not have legal effect of transferring the funds to them. The appellate court clarified that the rejection does not deny the human rights victims’ moral claims and acknowledged that they deserve “redress for the grievous wrongs that they have suffered.”

“While the court ruled that PNB has legal title to the account, PNB holds the monies in its capacity as a trustee for the Republic pursuant to an escrow agreement with the government,” then PCGG chairman Andres Bautista said.

United States

In 1996, the New Jersey Supreme Court ruled that two Marcos-claimed properties belonged to the Philippine government as there was hard evidence that it was purchased with money siphoned from the Philippine treasury. In 1986, the PCGG was able to acquire the award of titles of the Princeton Pike and the Pendleton Drive property, which were sold for P36 million in 1987.

A US District Court in Hawaii, where Marcos died in exile, had found his estate liable for torture, summary executions and disappearances, as reported by the New York Times. The Pimentel class of human rights obtained an award of billion for compensatory damages and exemplary damages against Marcos for his personal liability in human rights violations.

The Philippine government, however, intervened in this suit and waived Marcos’ personal immunity as formal head of state but did not waive its rights to the ill-gotten wealth. The Marcoses and the complainants reached a compromise in this case, which releases the family from all criminal liability in exchange for payment of million to be taken from the Swiss bank accounts. Anti-graft court Sandiganbayan rejected the compromise agreement as having no statutory or constitutional justification.

Philippines

In 2003, the Philippine Supreme Court granted the forfeiture of the -million Swiss deposits of the Marcoses. Representing the Philippines, the PCGG filed a petition for forfeiture against Marcos assets under the Forfeiture Law for violations of the Anti-Graft Law.

Switzerland acknowledged the validity of the Philippine judgment.

The 2003 judgment, however, did not include the Arelma shares. It was only in 2014 that the Supreme Court upheld with the finality the forfeiture of the Panamanian firm Arelma Foundation of the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos which was deposited in the United States.

The STAR reported that the high court affirmed its April 2012 decision denying the appeal filed by the heirs of the late strongman — Ilocos Norte Rep. Imelda Marcos and their son Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.

Former First Lady Imelda Marcos visits her sequestered mansion at the posh Dasmarinas Village at suburban Makati which is being renovated by its new owner after being sold by the government commission tasked to recover alleged ill-gotten wealth of the Marcoses, in this Dec. 5, 1994 file photo. Ten years after the “People Power” revolution that ousted the Marcoses from 20 years in power, the government still has to recover bulk of the alleged billions of dollars of Marcos’ assets.
Photo by AP/Alberto Marquez

The appeal was in connection with the 2009 decision of the Sandiganbayan declaring that all assets, properties and the so-called Arelma funds are among the ill-gotten wealth of the late dictator and should be forfeited in favor of the government.

“The Sandiganbayan did not err in granting the motion for partial summary judgment, despite the fact that the Arelma account and its proceeds are held abroad… To rule otherwise contravenes the intent of the forfeiture law, and privileges violators who are able to hide public assets abroad, beyond the reach of the courts and their recovery by the State,” said the decision penned by Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno. — Philstar.com NewsLab

A FAMILY AFFAIR

by MLC | Aug 4, 2017 | Martial Law Stories

Research by Kristian Javier

Source: Philstar.com NewsLab

Ferdinand Marcos had the dream of becoming the most powerful Filipino, even admitting that he wished to have a military dictatorship long before he declared martial law as president of the Philippines. He planned his steps like a general would, leaving no stone unturned.

Primitivo Mijares, who worked for the Marcos family as chief propagandist, wrote in his book “The Conjugal Dictatorship” that his wife, Imelda, had a hand in making Marcos’ aspirations become a reality. The former First Lady shared political powers with the dictator during Martial Law.

Ferdinand E. Marcos with his wife, Imelda at his side, gestures strongly from the balcony of Malacanang Palace on Tuesday, Feb. 25, 1986 in Manila, just after taking the oath of office as President of the Philippines. Just hours later, Marcos resigned and fled to the U.S. Air Force’s Clark Air Base, 50 miles northwest of Manila, as he prepared to accept an American offer to fly him out of the Philippines.
Photo by AP/Alberto Marquez

Imelda, the multifaceted Marcos

During her husband’s tenure, Imelda took on the role of an envoy and traveled to several countries from the United States to the Middle East. In 2011 documentary by Al Jazeera, the current Leyte representative even showed journalist Veronica Pedrosa photos of her trips abroad, recalling what foreign press said about her: “Imelda conquers Iraq.”

Veronica is the daughter of Carmen Navarro Pedrosa, journalist and author of the “The Untold Story of Imelda Marcos,” which narrated how the First Lady, although a Romualdez, was not born into wealth. The Pedrosas were forced into exile after the book’s publication.

Imelda had a flair for hosting grandiose events. In 1974, for example, she reportedly tapped the president’s contingency funds, military’s intelligence fund, trust funds of the Government Service Insurance System, Central Bank, Philippine National Bank, the Social Security System and the Development Bank of the Philippines to host the Miss Universe pageant in 1974.

The Philippine leader then appointed his wife as the governor of the Greater Manila Area in 1975, integrating four cities and 13 municipalities into one government. Imelda announced her grand plans to transform Metro Manila by transferring all government offices to a reclaimed area, build an international trade center and improve the Manila International Airport, among other plans.

The US Department of State said in a now declassified cable that for the airport project alone, the Asian Development Bank granted a loan of $29.6 million. “If even a fraction of what Mrs. Marcos proposes really does take place, it would mean enormous expenditures of resources and their diversion from rural development,” Washington noted in a now declassified document.

Imelda Marcos rides in an open jeep driven by Cuban premier Fidel Castro during a tour of a youth camp outside Havana, Cuba on Thursday, Aug. 28, 1975.

To top her array of duties as First Lady, assemblywoman, and Manila governor, Imelda was awarded a new Cabinet position for “human ecology and settlements” despite the expression of concern of assemblymen-elect that she first had to resign as governor of Metro Manila. She didn’t.

“Exactly what functions the new department will perform are not clear. It appears, however, that it may find itself competing (and probably successfully) with already establishing agencies, e.g. the Department of Local Government and Community Development, for control of other development programs,” another declassified U.S. State Department file stated.

Imelda was the privileged dictator’s wife, Assemblywoman, governor, Cabinet official, ambassador plenipotentiary, and hostess.

Imelda enjoys the pomp and ceremony of international occasions, and has even attempted to invite herself to the Nixon inauguration in 1968 and the dedication of the Sydney Opera House, where she made an effort to upstage the queen, declassified US diplomatic cables posted by WikiLeaks showed. A Dec. 23, 1976 cable of then US Ambassador to the Philippines William Sullivan raised questions on the claim of Imelda that she was invited to the inauguration of newly elected US President Jimmy Carter.

Her unannounced visits became the ire of the US State Department that she was regarded “more as a pest than a guest,” a Jan. 31, 1976 cable said detailing comments made by Jack Anderson on the ABC Television Network show “Good Morning America.”

The adjective “Imeldific,” moreover, was a rare contribution of the Philippines to the English language, referring to the excesses of Imelda. Merriam Webster Dictionary defines it as “ostentatious” and “extravagant,” as the world saw Imelda’s fashion, travels, parties and projects.

Imee, her father’s daughter

The eldest of the Marcos children, Imee was the first of the children thrown into politics. In 1975, at 20 years old, she was given by her father the position of chair for the newly created Kabataang Barangay. The appointment raised eyebrows as she was already too old for a group whose members’ ages ranged from 15 to 18.

Imee met a challenge in 1977, however, when 21-year-old Mapua student Archimedes Trajano spoke up at a forum to question her leadership. Frank Senauth detailed in his book “The Making of the Philippines” how Trajano was forcibly taken by Imee’s personal bodyguards from the Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila venue. The young man disappeared, only to be discovered dead later on. Trajano was reportedly told that her son got into a dormitory fight.

A district court in Honolulu, Hawaii ruled, however, that Trajano was beaten and tortured. The same court ruling awarded $4.16 million to the Trajano family and an additional unspecified amount for lawyers’ fees.

Investigative journalists in 2013 discovered that Imee was the beneficiary of a secret offshore trust not listed in her disclosure of wealth required for public officials. The massive leak lists Imee’s links to a so-called M Trust and Sintra Trust registering each of her four sons as “officers.”

“Despite being formed in 2002, thirteen years after the death of Ferdinand Marcos, Sintra Trust has parallels with the Marcos foundations set up in the early 1970s in Liechtenstein,” the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism wrote.

Bongbong, the political scion

A “viral video” would be unheard of in 1986, but home videos discovered at Malacañan Palace after Marcos was deposed might have met today’s standard of success on social media. US-based CBS News aired clips of a party aboard the presidential yacht where Ferdinand Jr., known as Bongbong, was seen dancing and singing with friends and family while wearing a flashing red bow tie.

The Marcos family was discovered to have hosted extravagant private parties for their relatives, friends and associates.

At the height of their power, the Marcoses transformed Palawan’s Calauit Island into a zoo through world-class trapper Tony Parkinson and uprooted 254 families living there. The island became known as “Bongbong’s Safari Park” after the president’s only son flew in twice to hunt wild boar, the Los Angeles Times reported. Bongbong himself admitted doing so in an interview with Bloomberg in 2013.

Bongbong also became governor of Ilocos Norte until his family was booted out in 1986. He was 28.

At the wake of the EDSA revolution, Bongbong was reported to have sat as chair of telecommunications empire Philcomsat in 1985, earning between $9,700 and $97,000 even though he “barely visited the office and apparently had no duties there,” reported Ann Scott in 1986, citing audit documents and unnamed sources. Philcomsat was a known crony corporation linked to the Marcoses.

Marcos family in 2016 at the controversial burial of dictator Ferdinand at the Heroes’ Cemetery in Taguig.
Photo by AP

Shortly after announcing his run for vice president in 2015, Bongbong admitted that the move disappointed his mother, Imelda. “She’s wanted me to become president since I was three years old. Imagine how disappointed she is,” he was quoted by Reuters as saying.

Irene, the unforgettable bride

Irene, the youngest child of Ferdinand and Imelda, was 21 when she married Gregorio Benitez Araneta from an influential Spanish-Filipino clan in a lavish ceremony. It placed the sleepy town of Sarrat, Ilocos Norte, the birthplace of Marcos, at the center of attention. Observers noted that the “wedding of the century,” which Imelda spearheaded, was meant to rival Prince Charles’ and Princess Diana’s nuptial.

Irene chose to rebuild the ruins of Sta. Monica, considered the biggest church in Ilocos, as Frank Cimatu wrote in 1998. Irene was “described by her mother, Imelda Marcos, as the most romantic of her children,” Cimatu added.

In 2015, the massive Panama Papers leak revealed that Irene and her husband have a stake on an obscure entity in the Caribbean established through Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca.

“The International Consortium of Investigative Journalism says vast trove of leaked documents detail the offshore financial dealings of the rich and famous. It includes nearly 40 years of data from the Panama-based law firm, Mossack Fonseca. Shortly after the leak, police raided the firm’s offices in Panama, El Salvador and Peru.

While it is legal to maintain offshore entities, they could also be used for illegal or at least unethical activity. “The [Panama Papers] show the myriad ways in which the rich can exploit secretive offshore tax regimes. Twelve national leaders are among 143 politicians, their families and close associates from around the world known to have been using offshore tax havens,” the Guardian wrote, describing the firm’s leaked files.

Several names of the country’s wealthiest were found in the leak.

FROM POWER TO OUSTER

by MLC | Aug 4, 2017 | Martial Law Stories

By AJ Bolando

Source: Philstar.com NewsLab

For 21 years, Ferdinand Marcos held the presidency longer than the Constitution allowed by declaring Martial Law.The dictator clung to power by bending laws to his favor but was eventually ousted after the illustrious People Power revolution. Returning to the Philippines after a few years in self-exile, the Marcoses also returned to power and were even nearing the vice presidency—only a step closer to Malacañang.

http://www.dailymotion.com/f4dfc509-6674-460b-99af-f226eef19896