By Patricia H. Kushlis
Fortunately it’s not everywhere where an embalmed body intrudes so prominently into an election campaign as is now taking place in the
The body, of course, is that of Ferdinand Marcos, the Filipino dictator who ran the country into the ground and then was run out of town - transportation courtesy of the US military – in 1986 by the Filipinos themselves in a coordinated effort of left, right, center, church and army that included not just the Communists but also the Roman Catholic Church’s very own Cardinal Sin and Marcos’ West Point trained Army General cousin Fidel Ramos. When I worked in
Actually I had worked in
But back to the Marcos - Imelda and her husband’s dead body.
Ferdinand Marcos hailed from the north – from
The US was likely delighted to be rid of the body, but because of the intense Filipino political opposition and turmoil this would have caused at the time, Marcos’ remains were finally allowed back in but not for a Manila burial - even without the pomp and circumstance - but at the dead of night to Leyte where the former dictator’s remains have subsequently remained above ground in a private mausoleum next to Marcos home in a glass box serenaded by funeral music 24/7.
The WaPo reporter who wrote the April 29 story based on his visit reported meeting Imelda there dressed in black with toenails painted red with silver highlights. My only view of Mrs. Marcos was one dark and stormy night when she was descending from an Pajero in the entrance to a glitzy
Imelda’s life long quest
Imelda, now in her 80s continues to lobby for the body’s burial in a
No surprises that the naysayer is Aquino’s son Benigno (Noynoy) Aquino, reputedly a lack-luster Senator thrust into the political limelight after the death of his mother Corazon (Cory) Aquino just last summer who herself had been improbably thrust into the political limelight and elected to the presidency in 1986 following the fall of the Marcos dictatorship. All of this had been precipitated by the still mysterious tarmac murder of Cory Aquino’s husband Benigno Aquino II upon his return from political exile in
Or at least the murder of that popular former Filipino journalist and major opposition figure sparked what became known as People Power and the EDSA Revolution that restored Constitutional government to the
Back to the Future
How Marcos’ body and the presidential elections to be held on May 10, 2010 more than twenty years later will play out is anyone’s guess. Election campaigns in the
Meanwhile Noynoy is running well in the presidential polls but he does have real challengers including – but not only - Manny Villar, Jr. the wealthy president of the Philippine Senate and self-made land developer who, unlike Aquino or Imelda and Marcos’ son Bongbong (Ferdinand Marcos Jr.) now running for the Senate while his mother runs for his Congressional seat and his sister for provincial governor, is not haunted by the bodies of a former politically well connected landowning family past.
Remembering the political past is still political – but what is appropriate?
Many countries, including our own, are both blessed and cursed by the memories and ideas of previous political movers and shakers. Some deserve more recognition than others. And even though we’re cursed with a Republican Party’s particular penchant for naming buildings and airports (please – I still think Washington National should not also bear Ronald Reagan’s or any other former politician’s name) after their heroes at least those dead political bodies often rest - hopefully in peace - in burial places near home.