ON
THE 32ND ANNIVERSARY OF MARTIAL RULE:
The
Truth is, He Never Left Us
The
most fanatical among the “devotees” of the late dictator Ferdinand
Marcos claim that he is still alive. In a way, he really still is: many of
those who walked highly and mightily under his 20-year rule are still in
power.
BY
ALEXANDER MARTIN REMOLLINO
Bulatlat
Don’t
cry for me, Argentina
The
truth is, I never left you…
These
are lines from the song “Don’t Cry for Me, Argentina,” from the
musical Evita by Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber, which deals with
the life of Evita Peron. The song was banned in the Philippines during the
martial law era (1972-86).
Evita
is known to many as the extremely extravagant first lady of Argentinian
dictator Juan Peron, who rose to power after a coup in 1943, was elected
president in 1946 and later overthrown in a coup in 1955. Before hitting
the political scene, Evita was a minor movie actress.
Former
first lady Imelda Romualdez-Marcos has been compared to Evita Peron,
notably by the late historian-journalist Renato Constantino – having
been a Manila beauty queen before getting wed to an aspiring politician
who would eventually become a dictator. She and her children – most
notably Imee who is now an Ilocos Norte representative – lived lavish
lives financed, critics said, with the people’s money, that aroused the
ire of a nation increasingly impoverished under a dictatorship. This is
said to be the reason she had the song “Don’t Cry” banned during
martial law.
The
Marcoses were booted out of Malacañang in the People Power uprising of
1986 following more than a decade of people’s anti-dictatorship
resistance – both underground and open. Ferdinand Marcos, who had been
weakened by a lingering ailment, died in exile in 1989.
But
Marcos is still very much here. To paraphrase the song, he never really
left us. He is still here, through his many cronies who remain in power.
Imelda
In
1992, Imelda was allowed to return to the Philippines from Hawaii, where
their family had gone on exile in 1986. She ran for a seat in the House of
Representatives in 1995 and won – representing her native Leyte. She ran
for president in 1998, but lost.
Her
son Bongbong (Ferdinand Jr.), on the other hand, had been allowed to
return to the country long enough before the 1992 election to qualify as a
congressional candidate. He won. He ran for the Senate three years later
but lost. In 1998 he ran for Ilocos Norte governor and won.
Meanwhile,
Imee ran for Ilocos Norte representative in 2001 and won. She ran again
last May 10, and is now serving her second term.
The
Marcoses have yet to fully account for the ill-gotten wealth stashed in
Swiss banks. They also remain influential power brokers.
Other
prominent Marcos cronies who remain in power are: Eduardo “Danding”
Cojuangco, the Estradas, Lucio Tan, Juan Ponce Enrile, and Jose de Venecia.
Cojuangco
Tycoon
and Marcos fraternity brod Cojuangco built his business empire during the
Marcos presidency. He reportedly amassed billions of pesos through the
coco levy, a tax collected from coconut farmers supposedly to finance the
development of the coconut industry. He had admitted publicly that he was
able to purchase the majority shares in San Miguel Corporation using money
from the coco levy.
Cojuangco’s
earnings from the coco levy now amount to P130 billion ($2.32 billion
based on a $1:P56 exchange rate). It is said of him that with the amount
of wealth he has, he can very well claim to be the country’s de facto
president. He is described in mainstream media as the country’s top
“kingmaker,” what with his ability to ensure political futures with
his financial support.
Cojuangco
was in the news again late August for his alleged role in the
assassination of former senator and Marcos political rival, Benigno Aquino,
Jr. in 1983.
Tan
and De Venecia
It’s
pretty much the same case for Tan and De Venecia. They both saw their
fortunes grow during the Marcos years with, reports said, generous behest
loans from the government for their businesses, in particular for Tan’s
Fortune Tobacco and De Venecia’s Landoil Resources.
Tan
is legendary for his ability to evade his tax obligations. The Ramos
presidency tried to force Tan to settle unpaid taxes to no avail. His
unpaid taxes now total P28 billion.
De
Venecia, meanwhile, has managed to stick to his position as Speaker of the
House of Representatives, which he first attained in 1995 – the only
interruption being in 1998-2001. He had run for president in 1998 but
lost.
In
contrast to Cojuangco, Tan, and De Venecia, the association of Enrile and
the Estradas with Marcos was more political in nature – although they
are also reported to have benefited from the dictatorial regime.
Enrile,
Estradas
Enrile
was defense minister under Marcos and, as such, presided over an armed
force accused of committing a
litany of human rights violations. In 1972, as he would admit in 1986, he
staged an assassination plot against himself to pave the way for the
declaration of martial law.
He
was partly instrumental in the formation of the Reform the Armed Forces
Movement, a small group of anti-Marcos soldiers who would stage a coup in
1986. About to be arrested by Marcos men, Enrile together with then Armed
Forces vice chief Fidel V. Ramos rode on the crest of the Edsa I revolt
and emerged as “heroes.”
Enrile
briefly served as defense secretary under the Corazon Aquino government.
He won a Senate seat in 1987. In 1992, he won a seat in the House,
representing his province of Cagayan. Three years later, he won in the
senatorial elections.
When
Imelda Marcos celebrated her birthday in 1998, Enrile was among the
well-wishers present. He was caught on TV getting a pat on the back from
the former first lady, who said: “This man is actually a Marcos boy.”
He
ran again for senator in 2001 but lost, and would win another Senate term
three years later.
Former
president Joseph Estrada was mayor of San Juan for nearly two decades
during the Marcos presidency. He was a senator from 1987 to 1992, and vice
president from 1992 to 1998. He ran for president in 1998, and won.
He
has never been unabashed in his sympathy for the Marcoses, and to prove
the point one of his first announcements after his proclamation as
president-elect in 1998 was on his decision to have the remains of
Ferdinand Marcos buried at the Libingan ng mga Bayani (Heroes’ Cemetery)
– an announcement that drew fire from human rights activists and their
allies. He had to take back his announcement in the wake of the massive
public indignation that it generated.
But
throughout his presidency he was always on a collision course with public
opinion because of his government’s alleged corruption and anti-people
policies. He was ousted in 2001 in what has since become known as the
People Power 2 uprising.
Nevertheless,
he continues to wield power through his legal wife Loi Estrada, who
managed to get a Senate seat in the May 2001 elections, and two of his
sons. His son with businesswoman Guia Gomez, JV (Jose Victor), became
mayor of San Juan in 2001 and is now on his second term. Meanwhile, his
son with Loi, Jinggoy, is now also a senator – accompanying his mother
who has managed to win a second term.
The
most fanatical of Marcos’ “devotees” claim that the former dictator
is still alive. In a sense, they are right, for many of the people who
walked highly and mightily during his 20-year rule still hold power.
Ferdinand
Marcos had to flee the people’s wrath in 1986. Like another dictator,
Napoleon Bonaparte, he never made it back to his country alive. But the
truth is, he never left us. Bulatlat
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