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Imelda: Glad Sen. Bongbong is following father's footsteps


On the 53rd birthday of her son, former First Lady and now Ilocos Norte Rep. Imelda Marcos said she is glad that Sen. Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. is "following the footsteps" of his father, the late dictator and former President Ferdinand Marcos. "I am truly happy to see Bongbong here in the Senate, following the footsteps of his father," the Marcos matriarch said during her son's birthday lunch with reporters in the Senate on Monday. Subsequent questions in the impromptu press conference centered on whether Sen. Marcos plans to run for the presidency in 2016. His father’s leadership went down in history as one fraught with human rights violations and massive corruption. “Hindi ko iniisip ‘yun. Baka sa 2016 wala na tayong presidente, iba na ang system (I’m not thinking about that. In 2016, we might not have a president anymore, the system may have already changed), " the senator curtly replied. He likewise said there are exceptions to the trend of president’s children becoming presidents themselves. President Benigno Aquino III is the son of the late President Corazon Aquino, while former President and current Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo is the daughter of the late President Diosdado Macapagal. While Sen. Marcos said he is not thinking of aiming for the country’s top position, his mother’s response was more foreboding. “That’s a matter of destiny and divine plan," Mrs. Marcos said, adding that she is proud that her son and other children are realizing “their father’s legacy of serving the people." ‘Marcos justice’ In the same conference, Mrs. Marcos lamented the government’s continued persecution of their family, such as the confiscation of their properties and the order to freeze their assets in other countries. She is thus calling for “Marcos justice." “Hindi naman kami mahirap, ginawa kaming mahirap (We were not poor, we were made poor)," Mrs. Marcos quipped, adding that she still has the over 300,000 documents used by US agencies in related lawsuits that will prove that they are the rightful owners of the sequestered properties. She likewise vowed that as soon as they recover their wealth, they will use it to uplift the condition of poor Filipinos. “Isa lang naman ang obsession ko, na walang mahirap na Pilipino (I only have a single obsession, that there are no poor Filipinos)," Mrs. Marcos said in her trademark tone as if she is on the verge of crying. Everything, including love letters for her from the former strongman, was seized from them by the Aquino government right after the patriarch was removed from office, the Marcoses maintained. “Nung bumaba kami ng Hawaii, wala kaming damit. Kinuha lahat. Walang itinira kahit isang t-shirt (When we got off in Hawaii, we didn’t have [spare] clothes. Everything was seized. Nothing was left, not even a single shirt,)," Sen. Marcos narrated, remembering when they were exiled to Hawaii courtesy of the Americans. ‘We were tricked’ The Marcoses likewise recalled how they were “tricked" into being flown to Hawaii instead of Paoay, a town in their home province of Ilocos Norte. “Unang-una, hindi namin alam na pupunta kaming Hawaii. Akala namin Paoay. Naloko kami, (At first, we didn't know that we were on our way to Hawaii. We thought Paoay. We were tricked)," Mrs. Marcos said, eliciting laughter from the audience of mostly reporters. “Akala ko matalino si Marcos (I thought Marcos was intelligent)," she added in jest. Marcos ruled the country for 20 years, serving his first term as president from 1966 to 1969. He then won another term that was supposed to run from 1970 to 1973. Instead, he imposed martial law in 1972, and tailored the 1973 Constitution to suit his indefinite authoritarian rule. He lifted martial law — the period under military rule was described as the “dark years" in Philippine democracy — in 1981, but kept a tight rein on government until he was ousted in a bloodless revolt in 1986. He died in exile in Hawaii in 1989. On the late dictator’s 93rd birthday last Saturday, victims of human rights during the dictatorship years urged Filipinos not to forget the former president’s legacy of abuse. Marcos’s widow is now batting not for a chance to bury her husband at Libingan ng mga Bayani, but a decent burial. “Maski na saan. Basta ang importante mabigyan ng honorable burial (Anywhere. What’s important is to give [him] an honorable burial)," she said. The body of the former stronger is encased in a glass container at the family estate in Batac Ilocos Norte. A mouthful on bachelor Aquino Both the mother and the son declined to assess the Aquino administration. “Ayokong manghusga (I don't want to judge)," according to Mrs. Marcos, saying she herself was a victim of harsh judgments in light of her supposedly obscenely extravagant lifestyle. The former beauty queen added she was originally scared of living in Malacañang, that when she first set foot in the Palace, staff members immediately passed judgment on her, particularly on the “rose-colored" soles of her feet. “Hanggang ngayon naja-judge pa rin ako. Hindi ko na alam kung ano ako: Imeldific, Imeldous complex (Until now I'm still getting judged. I don't know anymore what I am: Imeldific, Imeldous complex)," she said, referring to terms coined to describe her extravagant ways. She has, however, a mouthful to say about Aquino as a bachelor. “Nakakaawa naman siya, nakita ko, nag-iisa pa naman siya. Mabuti naman si Marcos mayroong kakwentuhan, mayroong scapegoat. Alam niyo, usually, ang mga asawa, scapegoat (He’s a pitiful sight, I can see, he’s alone. With Marcos, it was good he’s got somebody to talk to, he’s got a scapegoat. You know, wives are usually scapegoats)," Mrs. Marcos said, eliciting another round of laughter. Aquino’s father, former Sen. Benigno Aquino Jr., was a staunch critic of the Marcos dictatorship. He was killed in 1983 at the then Manila International Airport as he stepped down the plane on the tarmac escorted by members of the Aviation Security Command when he returned to the Philippines after three years of self-exile with his family in the US. The Aquino family has openly blamed the former strongman Marcos for the death of Sen. Aquino. —VS, GMANews.TV

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