Martial Law was declared several years ago but it was an event that can never be erased in our memories and should never be forgotten. A number of Filipinos perished under the time of Martial Law and denying what happened is tantamount to disregarding the lives lost and sacrifices made.
Ferdinand Marcos, the then-president was responsible of declaring Proclamation 1081 more known as the Martial Law on the 21st of September, 1972. From that point on to several years later, he and his family rose in power to the detriment of the Filipino people.
The years thereafter were a sad and dark time for the Filipinos. Abuse, tortures, censorships, illegal detentions, and even incidents of murder were reported. It took so much to take the power and the leading of the country away from Marcos. And that is another story to tell and deserves to be told in a separate article. For now, let’s talk about what happened to the Marcoses?
Ferdinand Marcos – Initially, in the 1986 snap elections Marcos was declared as the alleged winner. However, due to massive protests and walking out of COMELEC computer technicians because of election fraud – the People Power Revolution took place.
Marcos fled along with his family and closest allies from the Clark Airbase in Angeles, Pampanga to Guam. Eventually, his final destination was in Hawaii. He stayed in Hawaii until his death due to kidney, heart and lung failures on September 28, 1989.
Imelda Marcos – She returned to the Philippines on November 4, 1991 allowed by the president that time, Corazon Aquino. She ran for the presidential elections of 1992 to but lost. In 1995, she got elected as congresswoman of the first district of Leyte.
She attempted to run for presidency again in 1998 but eventually withdrew. In 2010, she got elected to the house of representatives, representing the second district of Ilocos Norte. She was reelected in 2013, and once again in 2016 for her last term.
Imee Marcos – Maria Imelda Josefa or Imee is the eldest child of the Marcos family also followed a political career. She was an elected Assemblyman for Ilocos Norte from 1984 to 1986.
Years later after the exile, she became Congresswoman of the Second District of Ilocos Norte. In 2010, she ran as Governor of Ilocos Norte. She got reelected again in 2013 and in 2016 for her last and final term.
Bongbong Marcos – Ferdinand Jr. or more known as Bongbong is the second child of Ferdinand and Imelda Marcos. Like his father, he also followed a political pathway. In 1980, at the age of 23 he became the Vice Governor of Ilocos Norte and served up to 1983.
Bongbong next won the Governorship of Ilocos Norte and served up to 1986, until he was exiled along with the Marcos family. He returned to the Philippines also in 1991 and got elected to the house of representatives a year later. He ran for the Senate in 1995 but didn’t make it.
He moved on to be the governor of Ilocos Norte, a congressman once again, and then for the Senate (year 2010) on the subsequent years. He ran for the Vice President position in 2016 but lost.
Save for Ferdinand, all of them are still alive and very much active in the political scene. It’s unfortunate to know that despite of the Marcoses’ controversies, they still got elected to public office years after.
Sources:
“Ferdinand Marcos,” https://www.britannica.com/biography/Ferdinand-E-Marcos.
“Imelda Marcos,” https://www.britannica.com/biography/Imelda-Marcos.
“Curriculum Vitae Imee Marcos,” https://web.archive.org/web/20051224170710/http://www.congress.gov.ph/download/cv/marcoscv.pdf.
“Ferdinand “Bongbong” R. Marcos, Jr.,” https://www.senate.gov.ph/senators/sen_bio/bmarcos_resume.asp.