Duterte asks SC: Rule on Marcos burial based on law, not emotion

President Rodrigo Duterte on Sunday appealed to the Supreme Court to put aside emotions when ruling on whether or not to allow the burial of former President and dictator Ferdinand Marcos at the Libingan ng mga Bayani.

In a media briefing before embarking on a state visit to Brunei and China, Duterte said he would respect the decision that the high court could possibly make on Tuesday on seven petitions filed by Martial Law victims, former and current government officials, and some members of the youth against the hero's burial of Marcos.

"I hope the Supreme Court will decide not on the emotion, but we know it will all be legal at the end of the day. What the Supreme Court will rule must be followed," said Duterte.

"We will follow what the Supreme Court says for after all, it is the Supreme Court [that] interprets the law and decides which of the public interest to serve," he added.

Duterte, however, maintained there is nothing illegal in having Marcos' remains buried at the Libingan ng mga Bayani.

"There is a law which grants Marcos of burial in the Libingan ng mga Bayani. As long as there is that law, it shall be followed," Duterte said.

As for questions on Marcos' heroism and controversial medals, Duterte said that has to be "resolved maybe in the generations to come."

Duterte lamented that the debates over a hero's burial for the late strongman "have alienated almost the entire Ilocano people."

"We cannot just do that because we are all Filipinos," he said.

During oral arguments at the SC last August 31, petitioners said Marcos' acts as a civilian when he was already the president of the Philippines negated his privilege to be honored as a soldier, even as they said Republic Act 10368 or the “Act providing for reparation and recognition of victims of human rights violation during the Marcos Regime," would be violated if the burial will push through.

The government, through Solicitor General Jose Calida, later responded during the second hearing on September 7 that Marcos, being a war soldier and former president, should be interred at the heroes' cemetery despite the petitioners' contention that he has forfeited this privilege due to his alleged crimes.

Chinese drug lord killed, 3 other high-profile inmates hurt in Bilibid stabbing incident

Peter Co

A Chinese drug lord died while three other high-profile inmates including Jaybee Sebastian and Peter Co were hurt in a stabbing incident inside Building 14 of the New Bilibid Prison (NBP) on Wednesday morning.

Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II said the stabbing incident happened at around 7:40 a.m.

Aguirre identified the slain Chinese drug lord as Tony Co.

He said Peter Co was in critical condition while Sebastian was already in a stable condition at the Medical Center of Muntinlupa City.

Another high-profile inmate, Vicente Sy, was also hurt in the incident. He was rushed to the Ospital ng Muntinlupa.

Building 14 houses high-profile inmates, including top drug lords.

Visitation rights of inmates in the national penitentiary have been suspended following the incident.

The stabbing incident happened even as Building 14 was heavily guarded by members of the police's elite Special Action Force (SAF).

Aguirre said that based on initial reports, the three Chinese drug lords were having a shabu session in their quarters before the stabbing incident. 

He said a former police major, also an inmate, tried to stop the shabu session but Tony Co allegedly attacked him with a knife.

"Pumasok si Tony Co at sinugod ng saksak [ang former police major]," Aguirre said.

The Justice secretary said they still had no idea how the Chinese drug lords were able to sneak the shabu inside the heavily-guarded building.

He reiterated an earlier admission of the Bureau of Corrections that only 90 percent of the illegal items being hidden in the inmates' quarters have been discovered and confiscated by the SAF and BuCor operatives during Oplan Galugad implementations.

Sebastian, an alleged drug lord and gang leader, had been invited to attend the House of Representatives Committee on Justice hearing on the alleged drug trade in the NBP.

Aguirre had said that they will soon file charges against Sen. Leila de Lima, the former secretary of the Department of Justice, for her alleged involvement in the drug trade at the national penitentiary.

A witness had said during the House hearing that Peter Co gave De Lima P5 million for the release of his niece.

Aguirre, who is leaving for Vietnam on Wednesday to accompany President Rodrigo Duterte on his official trip, said he will assign people to supervise the investigation of the stabbing incident.

De Lima says Jaybee was her asset.

( left: Jaybee Sebastian, right: sen. De lima )

Sen. Leila de Lima on Thursday said Jaybee Sebastian, a convicted car thief and a powerful gang leader, was her “asset” who provided information on the illegal drug trade at New Bilibid Prison (NBP) that as justice secretary in the Aquino administration she had attempted to crush.

But, De Lima, at a news conference called to deny allegations she received protection money from NBP drug lords to fund her senatorial campaign in May, declined to elaborate.

“The reason I’m saying he’s an asset is to dispel speculations, malicious insinuations that the reason why he was not transferred like the Bilibid 19 because he was favored, protected and the insinuation that he collects money for me,” De Lima said of Sebastian.

FIGHTING BACK Sen. Leila de Lima disputes the allegations raised by inmates during a hearing of the House committee on justice on the illegal drug trade atNew Bilibid Prison. LYN RILLON

The Bilibid 19 referred to the 19 drug lords transferred to the National Bureau of Investigation jail after a raid on the national penitentiary she led in December 2014.

Some inmates who testified at the hearing conducted by the justice committee of the House of Representatives claimed that they did not directly give to De Lima money but they either deposited cash or asked their referrals to make deposits to bank accounts controlled by her lieutenants, including Sebastian, who emerged as the “king of drug lords” after centralizing drug operations at NBP following the 2014 raid.

De Lima said that if Sebastian would testify in the House inquiry, he could address that matter but noted she would not also be surprised if he would testify against her.

The senator said Sebastian was not immediately transferred to the NBI jail because he was giving the department information on the NBP drug trade.

But she said she eventually ordered Sebastian to be transferred to the NBI jail when Rainier Cruz became the chief of the Bureau of Corrections (BuCor).

Gathering info

She also urged the House to invite former BuCor Chief Franklin Bucayu to share operational details of the 2014 raid.

De Lima also said she was gathering information on the witnesses who testified against her because the initial information was they did not want to do so.

She said she was getting information on how they were convinced to testify against her.

Psychological torture

She reiterated that some of the witnesses could have been pressured to do so, some had “an ax to grind against her,” some had “skeletons in the closet” and were blackmailed or paid.

De Lima said she knew that one inmate was taken to Intelligence Service of the Armed Forces of the Philippines and was “psychologically tortured” to force him to speak against her.

She said a former Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) official, Lt. Col. Ferdinand Marcelino, was being pressured by some groups to speak against her after Marcelino was reported on Wednesday to be facing illegal drug charges after the Department of Justice (DOJ) had reversed its earlier dismissal order.

A July 19 text had Marcelino revealing that some groups were “trying to convince me to speak against (De Lima).” But he assured the person he was texting he would not be used and he “never doubted her integrity.”

A second text, on Sept. 9, said Marcelino had complained of “mounting” pressures and that his drug case would be reopened.

Aquino not involved

“But rest assured that I will never give in to them mistah. Pls tell Sen L to keep faith and be strong,” Marcelino said in his text message, which De Lima shared to reporters.

Responding to Director Benjamin Magalong’s claim that the Philippine National Police was excluded in the December 2014 raid on NBP, De Lima explained that it was the DOJ that was on top of the operations but that they also used PNP units in the raid.

De Lima said Magalong, the deputy PNP chief for operations and former Criminal Investigation and Detection Group head, could have been “frustrated” when he made those statements.

She said Magalong admitted in the House inquiry that his office and the PDEA did not like what happened.

“I have no problem with Magalong. I perceive him to be a professional official,” she said.

De Lima took offense to statements that there was an official higher than she who was also linked to illegal drugs.

She said “the only one higher than me” was President Aquino himself.

“So are they saying my President is also a beneficiary of these things? Of course not, you know P-Noy,” she said adding these statements were “outlandish, very outrageous.”

This video shows how the first lady Imelda Marcos treat the farmers like her family and friends.

Blood of a traitor runs to its family.

Historical video: Benigno S. Aquino Sr. Habang nag tatalumpati. He was imprisoned at the Sugamo Prison when the Japanese surrendered. On August 25, 1946, Aquino was flown back to the Philippines for his trial on "TREASON" charges by the People's Court, a few weeks later he was released on bail.

Benigno S. Aquino Sr., Philippine Senior Secretary, speaks to the crowd about the Philippines' cooperation with Japan as a member of the Great East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere.

This is the proof that the Aquino bloodline fights the Filipinos for the Japanese when the Marcoses fights the Japanese for the Filipinos.

The truth behind unreleased 500 peso bill of Ferdinand Marcos.

The truth behind unreleased 500 peso bill of Ferdinand Marcos. 

This is the planned 500 peso bill of the Bank of the Philippines for the late president Ferdinand Marcos. But all is changed when Corazon Aquino takes place as President of the Philippines and change the design of 500 peso bill for her husband Ninoy Aquino.

Before President Marcos was President Quirino.

 

 Left: President Elpidio Quirino. Right: Imelda’s teenaged photo while in Leyte. Sources: Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. and Carmen Navarro Pedrosa.

Long before Ferdinand Marcos met Imelda, President Elpidio Quirino was already head over heels for the young “Rose of Tacloban.”
At 18, Imelda was at the height of her youthful beauty. She easily stood out in the crowd, and it didn’t take long before people in Leyte would invite her in various fundraising events, town fiesta, and civic parades among others.
Relying on her beautiful voice and stunning beauty, Imelda would make Leyteños proud whenever she was invited to welcome politicians visiting Tacloban–one of which was President Elpidio Quirino.
When he came to Tacloban in 1949, President Quirino was honored with a banquet and a special program held at the Divine World University.  The young Imelda Romualdez sung several songs for the high-profile guest, and President Quirino was immediately captivated.
According to the book “The Untold Story of Imelda Marcos,” the late President was so charmed by Imelda that he told then Finance Secretary Pio Pedrosa that he seriously considered courting the young girl (he was already a widower at that time).
However, President Quirino believed such action might just ruin “the prestige of the office of the Presidency,” and so his plans never materialized.

A Ferdinand Marcos look-alike doubled for the late president during many occasions.

 

 Jesus Quevenco (left) with President Ferdinand Marcos

Jesus Quevenco, a native of Negros, first met Ferdinand Marcos when his friend, Silay Mayor Romulo Golez, accompanied him to the late president`s house in the 1960s. During that time, then Senator Marcos just made his bid for the presidency.
While he was waiting at the living room, Quevenco met NP delegates from Mindanao who would later shake his hands, thinking that he was the real Marcos. It was the start of Quevenco’s part-time job as a Marcos double. He would take the place of Ferdinand to meet with people, accompany the First Lady Imelda Marcos, and attend events in times when the late president was either too busy or tired.
For his efforts, Quevenco was offered a position in the government which he then refused. But desperate to get him back as a Marcos double, Imelda Marcos offered a government position once again, this time to Quevenco’s wife, Thelma, who would become a GSIS employee and later, operations manager of the Ministry of Human Settlements in Western Visayas.
Eventually, Marcos’ popularity decreased in the 1970s and poor Quevenco was chased twice by an angry mob who thought he was the dictator. Afraid of his life, Quevenco left Manila with his wife and promised to never go back again.
The Marcos look-alike outlived the original by 25 years. Quevenco died of pneumonia at a Bacolod City hospital at the age of 90.

Hiroo Onoda surrenders sword to President Marcos.

The picture shows Japanese lieutenant Hiroo Onoda formally surrendering his sword to President Marcos on March 11, 1974 at Malacañang Palace.
As we’ve pointed out before, Onoda was one of the longest-remaining Japanese holdouts ever, continuing to fight for 29 years in the island of Lubang because he had no idea that World War II had already ended. In fact, his old commander had to be personally flown in from Japan to persuade him to surrender.
After Onoda was indeed convinced, he surrendered peacefully. In this same ceremony, Marcos gave Onoda a full pardon for the Filipinos he killed during his holdout, considering the fact that he thought he had been at war during that time. The president also returned his sword.

Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier’s presscon at Malacañang Palace.

On Sept 18, 1975—less than two weeks before they would fight the last of their epic trilogy in the ‘Thrilla in Manila’—Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier paid a courtesy visit to the Palace and met President Marcos and First Lady Imelda.

As usual, tension was kept high due to Ali’s penchant to mock his opponents before fights. Wearing barong tagalogs, both men engaged in a duel of witty remarks, with the president acting as their referee.

First Lady Imelda playing chess with Bobby Fischer.

This photo, taken sometime in 1973, shows First Lady Imelda playing the black piece against renowned American chess prodigy Bobby Fischer while President Marcos looks on in their match.

Fischer, as we all know, was a very brilliant yet eccentric genius. At one point, he renounced his American citizenship and openly flouted his anti-Semitism. However, he loved the Philippines because he was treated like a celebrity, with even the president obliging him in a chess game. He settled in Baguio for a while and sired a love child with a Filipina before finally transferring to Iceland shortly a few years before his death.

Last will of testament ni Marcos hindi binigay para sa taong bayan.

Last will of Ferdinand Marcos.

Ang last will of testament na ito ng dating pangulong Ferdinand Marcos na binasa sa harap ng senado ay hindi ipinag kaloob ng mga mambabatas na para sa mamamayang filipino.

‘Marcos robbed of .5-m votes in Quezon’

A DAY before Congress proclaims the president and vice president, a witness from Quezon province revealed that some 500,000 votes were shaved from the tally of independent vice presidential candidate Senator Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and were added to the votes of his rival, Camarines Sur Rep. Leni Robredo, who won by only 263,000 votes in the official count.

Robredo is set to be proclaimed today by Congress as winner in the vice presidential race.

Several hundreds of thousands of votes were also deducted from the votes of President-elect Rodrigo Duterte, Vice President Jejomar Binay and Senator Grace Poe and transferred to the administration’s presidential candidate Manuel Roxas II, the witness said.

The witness said the vote shaving and vote padding were done in a warehouse that he was told to set up in Lucena for the “covert dagdag-bawas operation” run by the Liberal Party and Smartmatic personnel.

The alleged cheating was carried out by intercepting the transmissions of the results from the precincts to the municipal official board of canvassers.

“The IT personnel hired by the Liberal Party were the ones who transmitted the intercepted results after the vote shaving and vote padding were done,” the witness said.

The witness, a municipal hall official, whose mayor was an LP official, was presented to the media by poll watchdog and civil society group Council on Philippine Affairs  (Copa), headed by Pastor Saycon.

The witness, who requested anonymity and preferred to be called “Ka Bert,” covered his face with a mask for security purposes. He is a member of the Iglesia ni Cristo.In a news conference at the residence of Saycon in Ayala, Alabang, Ka Bert recounted that a month before the May 9 polls, he was told by the LP mayor to find a warehouse that would be converted into a “war room” or command center for monitoring purposes.

“At first I thought it was for monitoring only and so I never [saw] malice [in] the mayor’s order,” Ka Bert said.

He said the mayor and the people from Smartmatic rejected the first warehouse he found because it was far from the voting centers.

“They said they needed a place that was close to the voting centers so I found them a place near the city hall, which was also close to the voting centers,” he said.

Several computers, TV monitors and other office equipment were brought in, he said.

“One week before the elections, I was surprised that at least nine vote counting machines or VCMs arrived and nine IT personnel, hired by LP’s Mar Roxas also came. Five of the nine IT personnel were from Smartmatic and the four others were from Quezon province,” the witness said.

“I thought at first the VCMs were intended to replace those that will conk out,” the witness said.

“On the day of the elections, after 5 p.m., I was shocked to see the IT people becoming busy operating the VCMs and started tinkering the machines and to my dismay, started changing the results, the figures, the votes. The total number of votes were the same except that the votes for Robredo and Roxas had been padded from the votes that were shaved from their opponents,” the witness said.

“When the VCMs started to get transmissions from the precincts, I asked the IT people why were there transmissions coming in because I knew that from the voting precincts, the transmissions should go straight to the transparency server of the [Commission on Elections]. They told me that it was they who would transmit the votes,” he said.

Ka Bert said he personally saw how votes transmitted from the voting precincts were being changed before they were transmitted to the transparency server.

He added that even the votes of Duterte were shaved and transferred to Roxas. He said the votes of Binay and Poe were also reduced in favor of Roxas.

“But the biggest reduction was made against Marcos because some 500,000 of his votes were given to Robredo. For Duterte it was about 300,000 votes, for Binay, about 200,000 and Grace Poe, too,” he said.

In the Certificate of Canvass for Quezon province, Robredo won with 385,164 votes over Marcos’ 173,394 votes.

He said a staff of Roxas was the one who gave money to the IT guys for the operation.

“I recognized him as a Roxas guy because every time Roxas would visit our province, he was with the advance party who was arranging the itinerary of the secretary,” Ka Bert said in Filipino.

He said the LP and Smartmatic IT personnel used “jammers” to intercept the results and the Board of Election Inspectors from the precinct level to the municipal and provincial thought they had successfully transmitted the results.

 “They did not notice that their transmissions had been intercepted and hijacked,” the witness said.

He said he started to become suspicious when the VCMs began arriving and was given the consistent answer of “stop asking questions, this is an order from the top.”

Ka Bert said he decided to expose the election cheating because he could not stomach how the whole election system was bastardized in his area.

In fact, he said, four of the IT personnel, who manned the VCMs in the Lucena warehouse would join him in testifying when needed. 

“They are also willing to testify and they have many documents to prove that indeed the illegal transmission of votes from all over Quezon province, and the vote shaving and vote padding happened,” Ka Bert said.

Saycon said there was a need to investigate the elections because of the many anomalies reported.

“There was wholesale pre-shading [of ballots], massive vote buying, SD card manipulation, and there was a change in the hash code, and now, transmission diversion,” Saycon said.

“It was a multi-level operation, so we were surprised that Roxas suddenly became No. 2 and then in the Senate, [Senate President Franklin] Drilon suddenly became No. 1. It’s a good thing Duterte’s lead was overwhelming—but even his votes were shaved, so he should step into this because stealing votes is worse than stealing from the coffers.”

Ferdinand Marcos Military Career.

The Military Career of Ferdinand Marcos

    Hours after the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 8, 1941, the Japanese simultaneously bombed many places in the Philippines, including Clark Field. The 14th Army began its invasion with a landing on Batan Island (not to be confused with Bataan Peninsula), 120 miles (190 km) off the north coast of Luzon on the same day, by selected naval infantry units. Landings on Camiguin Island and at Vigan, Aparri, and Gonzaga in northern Luzon followed two days later. Marcos would be one of the 78,000 Filipino and American troops who surrendered at Bataan on April 9, 1942, four months after the Japanese initiated their invasion of the Philippines. He survived the Bataan Death March that followed the surrender. 

April 9, 1942 - Bataan Death March

  In 1962, Marcos would claim to be the "most decorated war hero of the Philippines" by garnering almost every medal and decoration that the Filipino and American governments could give to a soldier. Included in his 27 war medals and decorations are that of the Distinguished Service Cross and the Medal of Honor, the Purple Heart, the Silver Star, and the Philippine Medal of Valor.

Marcos's claims in his self-commissioned autobiography Marcos of the Philippines that Gen. Douglas MacArthur pinned on him the Distinguished Service Cross medal for delaying Japanese at Bataan for 3 months.

Marcos also have led a 9,000-man guerrilla force called Ang Mahárlika (Tagalog, "The Freeman") in northern Luzon during World War II. His account of events was later cast into doubt after a United States military investigation exposed many of his claims as either false or inaccurate. Meanwhile, Marcos claimed that he was able to get the United States Adjutant General to recognize 3,500 individual claims of soldiers then under his command.

Ferdinand Marcos bought the Kalayaan Island in Spratlys for 1 peso.

LtJG  Domingo Tucay reading proclamation at the Kalayaaan Islands in Spratlys. Source: bonginvirginia.blogspot.com

Philippines’ claim over the Spratlys started when Tomas Cloma landed at its biggest island in 1956. A seafaring adventurer and owner of a fishing business, Cloma made a “Proclamation to the whole world” that a new state called  “The Free Territory of Freedomland” was created. He asserted sovereignty over the area although no country formally recognized his claims.

Cloma, who was also the founder of the Philippine Maritime Institute, was later jailed during the martial law for the fraudulent use of the “admiral” title (his drinking buddies at the National Press Club called him “Admiral”).

He was released after he surrendered all his claims to the islands to Marcos for only one peso. Afterwards, Marcos officially transformed the biggest island (“Pag-Asa Island”) into a fortification, the first and probably the last time that our country was able to add a new territory.

Some People worship Ferdinand Marcos like a GOD.

Unlike most Filipinos who vilify the late dictator, a group of peasants in Ilocos Norte and in the mountains of Abra province worship Ferdinand Marcos like a saint.

In fact, they gather every month in their own chapel dressed in white flowing robes to worship the long-dead Marcos. Inside the chapel, they face an altar where the picture of the sacred heart of Jesus is displayed–with Jesus Christ’s face replaced by that of Marcos.

For the cult members, Marcos didn’t steal but “simply kept the fortune they accused him of stealing.” They also added that “time will come when all the money will be recovered and used for the development of our country.”

According to cult leader Rodolfo Cabusao, their group started as a member of the Rizalian Brotherhood which have long believed that Rizal was Christ’s reincarnation. They began worshiping Marcos when the strongman died in 1989, the same year when Cabusao claimed that Marcos appeared in his dream and proclaimed himself as God’s disciple.

Ferdinand Marcos knew that the U.S. secretly stored nuclear weapons in the country, but never told anyone.

This is according to a document released by the National Security Archive based in George Washington University.

The said top-secret memo was from US career diplomat Robert McClintock. He informed then acting secretary of the US State Department that the storage of nuclear weapons “would be covered by executive privilege and not divulged to the Symington Subcommittee on overseas commitments.”

The memo also suggests that the nuclear weapons have been stored in the country for many years “without prior consultation with the Philippine Government.”

The document added: “The fact that President Marcos was secretly informed of the presence of these weapons in 1966 would not work to his advantage in the elections. The Philippine government and public are not aware of storage nor of President Marcos’ knowledge thereof.”

Ferdinand Marcos launched the first Philippine-made rocket.

Yes, you heard that right: A rocket made in the Philippines.  Launched in Caballo Island (near Corregidor), the rocket was part of “Project Santa Barbara” which was participated by a group of scientists and the Philippine Navy.

Since December 1972, a series of 37 dynamic tests had been conducted on the 180 MM rocket. The project, initiated by President Marcos, also involved testing of other weapons and armaments.

On September 1975, four “bongbong” rockets (obviously named after Marcos’ son) were successfully launched. Asked about why the country was experimenting in making its own ballistic missiles, President Marcos explained:

“The defense of the Philippines cannot be left to alliance with other countries. We must assume that there will be contingencies where even the United States may not be ready to come to our assistance.”

Ferdinand Marcos was a memory whiz.

Marcos was so smart he single-handedly topped the 1939 Bar Examinations (with near-perfect score) despite being in jail for 27 days!

Perhaps we can attribute it to his photographic memory which reportedly gave him the ability to memorize complicated texts such as the the 1935 Philippine Constitution and recite them forward and backward.

Several people can attest to Marcos’ incredible memory, and they include Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago who once served as the late president’s speech writer.

“One time, the Secretary of Justice forgot to tell me that the President had requested him to draft a speech….” said Miriam during an interview with the Philippine Star.

“And then, on the day the President was to deliver the speech, he suddenly remembered because Malacañang was asking for the speech, so he said, ‘This is an emergency. You just have to produce something.’

…He (Marcos) liked long speeches. I think that was 20 or 25 pages. And then, in the evening, I was there, of course. President Marcos recited the speech from memory.”

2 Facts about Ferdinand Marcos Religion.

1. He was baptized into the Aglipayan Church.

Happy family: From left to right are Pacifico E. Marcos, Josefa Edralin Marcos (matriarch), Elizabeth Marcos, Mariano Marcos y Rubio (patriarch), and Ferdinand E. Marcos. The youngest child, Fortuna, was not yet born when this photo was taken. Source: Old Manila Facebook Page

Born on September 11, 1917 in Sarrat, Ilocos Norte, Ferdinand Marcos was baptized into the Aglipayan or Philippine Independent Church.

The church was founded in 1902 by Isabelo de los Reyes and a Roman Catholic priest named Gregorio Aglipay who also became its first Supreme Bishop.

Members of this church reject the spiritual authority of the Pope as well as the doctrine of the Trinity. They also denied the existence of angels, devils, miracles, and other supernatural manifestations.

2. He changed religion in order to marry Imelda in a Catholic church.

When Marcos first met Imelda Romualdez in 1954, it was love at first sight. So after only two weeks of courtship, the couple tied the knot first in a civil ceremony in Baguio City followed by a church wedding at the Pro Cathedral of San Miguel in Manila.

To make this possible, Imelda had to convince Ferdinand to convert from his native Aglipayan religion to Roman Catholicism. She succeeded in persuading the latter, and the church wedding was held afterwards with President Ramon Magsaysay as the principal sponsor.

Imelda claims she had nothing to do with the Beatles fiasco.

1966 was the year the English rock band The Beatles made a promise to never return to the Philippines. And they have remained true to their word.

But what really transpired during the Beatles’ Manila concert tour?

Actually, there are two versions of the story, and we’ll start with the one that most people, including Beatles historians, believe.

Flashback to July 3, 1966, the Beatles had just arrived in the Philippines, the second stop of their World Tour.

Prior to that, promoter Ramon Ramos of the Cavalcade International Promotions sent a wire to the Beatles’ manager Brian Epstein while the group was still in Tokyo. Ramos informed them about the courtesy call on Mrs. Marcos that would take place as soon as they arrive in the Philippines.

He received no reply, but assumed acceptance so he finalized the schedule of the said courtesy call. And this is when all the horror started.

First Lady Imelda Marcos prepared well for the luncheon, expecting that the rock band would attend the event. She even invited hundreds of people including senators, congressmen, cabinet secretaries, and other VIPs. But everything ended in disappointment when the Beatles refused to show up.

The Beatles composed of John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr performed Live in Manila on July 4, 1966 at the Rizal Memorial Football Stadium. Front Acts: Reycard Duet, Wing Duo, Lemons Three, Eddie Reyes and D’Downbeats, Dale Adriatico and Pilita Corrales. Source: www.philippineconcerts.com

The next day, July 4, 1966, the Beatles had their two concerts at the Rizal Memorial Stadium. Nothing unusual happened, although the group performed only 10 songs which lasted for less than 30 minutes.

All hell broke loose when they were about to leave Manila the next day. Irked by the seemingly cold response of the group to her invitation, Imelda Marcos reportedly turned the Beatles’ departure into a total chaos. When the group reached Manila Airport, no one bothered to help them with their luggage, the escalator was turned off, and all VIP privileges were removed.

Worse, the Beatles and their entourage was “jostled, kicked and punched as they made their way to the departure gate for their KLM flight to London.” Their manager was also forced to surrender $17,000 cash to the Bureau of Internal Revenue before they were able to leave.

Needless to say, it was a traumatic experience for the “Fab Four.” Such was the impact of the 1966 Manila tour that they decided to terminate all of their live performances afterwards, paving the way for their ‘studio years.’

But Imelda Marcos begs to differ.

In a statement published in the Philippine Star, Marcos points out that the Beatles fiasco was a result of miscommunication, and that she and the First Family had nothing to do with it. She also claims that when she heard that the group was being mishandled by disappointed Filipinos at the airport, “I immediately ran to the airport to have it stopped.”

“I would never dream of hurting the world’s No. 1 band”, she added. “Whatever motivated the people to treat them that way was not my doing. They could have done it out of sympathy and I think it was wrong. I abhor violence.”

How the “world’s richest girl” bailed out Imelda Marcos.

Mrs. Imelda R. Marcos welcomes Ms. Doris Duke in a dinner and Philippine folklore song and dance presentation at the Waldorf Astoria hotel in New York City. Photo Credit: Ramon Lopez via Flickr.

Tobacco heiress Doris Duke was known for two things: Her wealth and philanthropy. The only child of American Tobacco Company president James Biddle Duke, Doris earned the title “the richest girl in the world” when her deceased father left her a fortune in 1925.

We all know that Imelda Marcos likes befriending socialites and heiresses, so it should come as no surprise that Doris Duke was included on her list. A friend of the heiress said that Duke had traveled to the Philippines during the Marcos era and came back with only nice things to say.

To cut the long story short, Duke considered Marcos as her pal and vice versa.

Now back to Imelda Marcos. In 1988, the Marcoses and eight other defendants were facing racketeering charges in the US. They were accused of fraud and embezzlement of hundreds of millions of dollars worth of Manhattan real estate.

With billions stored in their bank accounts, the Marcoses could easily afford the $5 million bail. But here’s the catch: The authorities froze most of their assets.

This is when Doris Duke came to the rescue. She believed her old friend didn’t commit any crimes so she agreed to post $5 million dollars worth of municipal bonds for Marcos. However, she didn’t offer it for free. On her will, Duke authorized her executors to recover all the money she was owed once things go back to normal in the Philippines.

Ferdinand Marcos was not Imelda’s “ideal man.”

We already heard about the whirlwind romance between Ferdinand and Imelda (they got married after an 11-day courtship). Although not impossible, it’s still surprising how a romantic relationship could blossom that quick. Besides, the late dictator didn’t possess half of the qualities of Imelda’s ideal man.

“So who was her ideal guy?”, you may ask.

According to Lourdes “Lulu” Ferrares, one of Imelda’s closest childhood friends in Leyte, he must be “tall, have dark sunkissed skin and soulful eyes.”

Some men whom she met in her life certainly had those qualities, and they include a student doctor named Justo Zibala who lived only a few blocks away from Imelda’s house in Tacloban. But religion (Justo was a Protestant, Imelda a Catholic) was the main hindrance why the two never ended up together.

And then came Ariston Nakpil, a Harvard University graduate, son of the very beautifulAnita Noble, and at that time, one of Manila’s most eligible bachelors. He was tall, handsome, and had every thing Imelda was looking for a man. But there’s one obstacle: Ariston was not yet annulled from his previous marriage.

Imelda was so in love with the prominent architect, but even her father and the rest of her family were against the relationship. In the end, she decided to break up with Ariston to marry Ferdinand Marcos, then a neophyte congressman whose high ambition would later change Imelda’s life forever.

Imelda worked as a sales girl at a music store in Escolta.

With only 5 pesos in her purse, 23-year-old Imelda arrived in Manila in 1952 to receive formal music training (she was an aspiring opera singer back then) and at the same time, find a job to support her education.

Her cousin, Congressman Danieling Romualdez, welcomed her to his huge mansion at Santa Mesa Heights where Imelda would stay for a while. And true to his promise to his uncle, Vicente Orestes, Danieling helped Imelda find a job. At that time, one of Imelda’s stepbrothers was already working in the legal department of P.E. Domingo, and Danieling thought it’s a great idea to let her work in the same store.

So off she went to P.E. Domingo, a music store located at the foot of Jones Bridge and where pianos and musical pieces could be bought. Imelda worked as a sales girl-receptionist who would play the piano and sing the lyrics for interested buyers. It was mostly a menial work, but she didn’t bother. For her, it was a stepping stone for a bigger stage.

Her stint at the music store ended as soon as Vicente Orestes arrived in Manila. Believing that the job was too demeaning for Imelda, he asked Danieling to find a more “respectable” work for his cousin.

Thanks to her relatives who held high government positions at that time, Imelda was hired as a clerk at the Central Bank despite having no civil service eligibility.