Imelda Marcos
Imelda Romuáldez Marcos (born July 2, 1929 in Manila City) is the former First Lady and a political figure in the Philippines. She moved to Palo, Leyte about 10 kilometers from Tacloban when she was 7. She is known as the "Steel Butterfly" and remains a very controversial figure in her home country. She is renowned -- or notorious -- for her excessively large collection of shoes.
The world reacted to the quantity and expense of the shoes but never realized the true irony. Many of the shoes she purchased in New York were made in factories less than 10 miles from the Presidential Palace. At the time the Philippines was the worlds second largest producer of shoes. She could have easily had her shoes custom made for very little cost or free.
Early life
Imelda Romuáldez was born to Vicente Orestes Romuáldez and Remedios Trinidad and spent her early life as a beauty queen. Her father, Vicente Orestes, was the youngest brother of another figure in Philippine politics, Norberto Romuáldez Sr. who served in the Philippine Supreme Court during the American era. He was the Governor of Leyte for many years.
Imelda always wore long dresses because she had very thin legs. During Martial Law some pictures of her legs when she was a young girl were published in the local newspaper in Tacloban, Leyte. Several days later the Philippine Constabulary (national police) raided the newspaper and confiscated any and all materials about Imelda.[citation needed]
In 1950 she was voted "Muse of Manila." Her beauty caught the eye of politician Ferdinand Marcos, and the two married in 1954 after a well-publicized 11-day romance.
First lady of the Philippines
In 1965, Ferdinand was elected President of the Philippines. He declared Martial law in 1972. Many of the shady financial dealings attributed to him were actually comitted by Imelda.[citation needed] Imelda took an active role in politics. Becoming the First Lady of the Philippines, she was appointed to many significant positions like the Minister of Human Settlements and Governor of Metro Manila. This was not only because they believed she had a compassionate heart but also because they were confident she would take action immediately. These actions earned her the title "Mother of the Nation."
In the eyes of some, her role as First Lady draws parallels to Eva Perón's role as popular wife of Argentinian dictator Juan Perón. Like Evita, Imelda was a popular figure whose beauty and telegenic qualities helped bring support to their husbands' regiemes. While it could be argued that Imelda Marcos was much more of a cult figure worldwide, mostly because of her excesses, they both shared an almost demi-god-like status in their own countries.
Life following the Marcos presidency
In 1986, the Marcos regime was toppled and the couple sought exile in Hawaii. Ferdinand died in 1989 and, three years later, Imelda returned to the Philippines and ran for president. She was badly defeated, but in 1995 she was able to win a seat in the Philippine House of Representatives. She represented the first district of Leyte, which includes Palo near Tacloban City, where she spent most of her childhood after age 7.
In 1998, she made another bid for the presidency but was trounced. Imelda Marcos finished 9th among 11 candidates vying for the Philippine government's top post. On the other hand, her family still wields influence in local politics in Leyte. Proof of this is the election of her nephew Alfred Romuáldez to the congressional seat that she vacated. Alfredo "Bejo" Romuáldez, a brother of Imelda and father of Alfred Romuáldez, is now in his second term as the mayor of Tacloban City.
In 2001, after her term had ended, Imelda was arrested on charges of corruption and extortion committed during her husband's presidency. She had previously been found guilty of similar charges in 1995, but was acquitted.
The controversy centers on approximately $684 million that mysteriously "disappeared" from the Filipino treasury during the Marcos presidency. Most believe the wealth was stolen by the Marcos family and stashed in their Swiss bank account. In 2003, the money was awarded to the Philippine Government. However, the Marcos' allegedly conspired to swindle at least $5 billion from Philippine revenue. In addition to all of these charges, the Marcos' expropriated business and land holdings from Filipino entrepreneurs. If the entrepreneurs did not cooperate, they were either arrested or their businesses shut down.
Imelda Marcos had a very large collection of shoes and lingerie. She reportedly owned 3,000 pairs of shoes (size 8 1⁄2), which were found by the opposition forces after the Marcos regime was overthrown in 1986. In 1987 she famously defended herself by stating : "I did not have three thousand pairs of shoes, I had one thousand and sixty." Most were worn only once or not at all. The collection included a pair of plastic disco sandals with three-inch-high, flashing, battery-operated heels; 500 (size 38) brassieres; 200 (size 42) girdles and a bulletproof bra. The shoes (and the photo of them on wooden racks in a warehouse-sized room at a presidential palace) became a symbol of her life of luxury amid the poverty of most Filipinos. As recently as February, 2003, Marcos was seen in Italy buying diamonds.
In 2003, her life was the subject of a documentary (titled "Imelda") directed by Ramona S. Diaz. Initially, Imelda Marcos opposed the public showing of this film in the Philippines and even got a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) from a local court stopping its public showing. Eventually she allowed the showing of the film on the condition the director drop the word "Documentary" from the film.
In October 2005 British DJ Fatboy Slim and Talking Heads singer David Byrne revealed their plans for a musical about Imelda Marcos. It is set to premier at Australia's Adelaide Festival of Arts in March 2006. [1] In the same period, Imelda filed a case against the Philippine Presidential Commission on Good Government in an effort to stop the sale of jewelry confiscated from her by the Philippine government. The Philippine government intends to sell the said jewelry, comprising of three collections, via an international auction to be conducted either by Sotheby's or by Christie's as part of government's efforts to plug its budget deficit. Local pawnshop companies in the Philippines have also expressed their desire to conduct the auction of the jewelry. Imelda claims that most of the jewelry to be auctioned were part of the inheritance that she received from her mother, and the rest were gifts given to her by heads of state when she went on state visits with her husband as the first lady. Her request for a restraining order is now pending before a local court in Manila. The contested jewelry, on the other hand, are kept in the vaults of Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, the central bank of the Philippines.
Despite all the controversy hounding her, Imelda remains a popular figure in the Philippines and still visible in the society pages.
In March 2006, Imelda Marcos, through her lawyer, said that she is open to a compromise agreement on Marcos assets to end twenty years of fruitless litigation [2].
Imelda Marcos has 4 children: Ferdinand Jr. (aka "Bongbong") who is the present governor of the province of Ilocos Norte in northwestern Philippines, Imee, now a congresswoman representing the first district of Ilocos Norte and Irene, a famous socialite based in Manila and adopted daughter Aimee, an entrepreneur and musician.