It often takes too long, but what goes around comes around—often, in bits and pieces.
A small, yet not insignificant, amount of 'Marcos money' is about to be recovered for the Philippines' public coffers, via auction, through the recovery efforts of a Philippine government commission tasked with tracking down wealth accumulations of Ferdinand and Imelda Marcos (largely stolen from their subjects).
Gen X and Baby Boomer generations will recall some of the 80s news-program broadcasts regarding the Marcos' fall.
Ferdinand Marcos won his first Philippine presidency in 1965, after gaining popularity as a political leader and accomplished lawyer who'd promised to continue in the footsteps of his predecessor by forging ahead with the goal of ridding the Philippine government of all corruption.
Marcos rode the coattails of a liberal forerunner's strong relationship with U.S. dignitaries, as well as those of his wife, Imelda, whose popularity and drive heightened his own. His country's economy, despite U.S. restrictions pertaining to competition, had been boosted by post-WWII, democratically-principled, practices that encouraged formal cohesion among various political parties of the Philippines and its trade countries. The Philippines, being the first Southeast-Asian country to gain independence after World War II on July 4, 1946 when the U.S. granted formal independence to the Philippines with strings attached, nonetheless experienced great strides in economic power.
However, being a "Nationalista" followup to a previously liberal leadership, Ferdinand did not continue to root out corruption as promised, but instead fed the cycle of rich vs. poor, primarily through a "U.S.-style" judicial system that undermined and impoverished the economically poor by catering to powerful land-holders through judgments rendered by "judges who were landlords and enforced by sheriffs and officials who were landlords".
For example, at the end of the Marcos' reign over Philippine welfare, hard questions were leveled at the matriarch regarding billions in amassed wealth being held (in the form of gold) being until such time as legal statute would run out—idea being that when the disadvantaged people ignorant of such law failed to stake claim to that fortune, the ownership of it would 'legally' revert to the Marcos. Too, all along, the Marcos had stored wealth acquired off the people in offshore accounts in Switzerland, for example,
Himself being corrupt, Ferdinand took advantage of a fascist power to control and censor media, which otherwise may have been sooner able to redirect the peoples' resolve in their own interests. Instead, the Philippine media was integrated into a machine that was used to disseminate propaganda in favor of Ferdinand and Imelda's reign. Ultimately, they would declare marshal law and use that domestic uncertainty to further establish their wealth and advantage.
Toward the end of their governance, Imelda's ostentatious preparations (and grotesque construction disaster coverups), designed to impress visiting foreign dignitaries, continued to turn people off of their negative influences. In fact, some would not take advantage of offered quarters on properties considered too lavish, only willing to stay elsewhere than where Imelda Marcos had intended.
Oft' referred to by the disparaging nickname "Marie Antoinette, with shoes", Imelda Marcos continued to be a popular inspiration to followers. She continued to win leadership positions after fleeing to the U.S. in exile with her husband in 1986 and—five years later—being allowed to return to the Philippines (without Ferdinand, since deceased) where, as of today, she continues to live.
Subscribers to Bloomberg are privy to further details regarding the auctions of some of the stolen wealth. These are public auctions: even the Marcoses may bid.
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| First inauguration of President Ferdinand Marcos held at the Quirino Grandstand, Manila, December 30, 1965. (PD img via Wikimedia Commons) |
FURTHER READING
"Duterte hopes to hand presidency to dictator Ferdinand Marcos' son"
"With 'hero's' burial for Marcos, Duterte endorses Philippines' authoritarian past"
"International Realities and Philippine Foreign Policy Under Ferdinand Marcos"
