The Conjugal Dictatorship Of Ferdinand And Imelda Marcos I

Author's Foreword This book is unfinished. The Filipino people shall finish it for me. I wrote this volume very, very slowly. 1 could have done with it In three months after my defection from the conjugal dictatorship of Ferdinand and Imelda Marcos on February 20.1975. Instead, I found myself availing of every excuse to slow it down. A close associate, Marcelino P. Sarmiento, even warned me, "Baka mapanis 'yan." (Your book could become stale.)While I availed of almost any excuse not to finish the manuscript of this volume, I felt the tangible voices of a muted people back home in the Philippines beckoning to me from across the vast Pacific Ocean. In whichever way I turned, I was confronted by the distraught images of the Filipino multitudes cryingout to me to finish this work, lest the frailty of human memory -- or any incident a la Nalundasan - consign to oblivion the matters I had in mind to form the vital parts of this book. It was as if the Filipino multitudes and history itself were surging in an endless wave presenting a compelling demand on me toSan Francisco, California perpetuate the personal knowledge I have gained on the infamous machinations of Ferdinand E. Marcos and his overly ambitious wife, Imelda, that led to a day of infamy in my country, that Black Friday on September 22, 1972, when martial law was declared as a means to establish history's first conjugal dictatorship. The sense of urgency in finishing this work was also goaded by the thought that Marcos does not have eternal life and that the Filipino people are of unimaginable forgiving posture. I thought that, if I did not perpetuate this work for posterity, Marcos might unduly benefit from a Laurelian statement that, when a man dies, the virtues of his past are magnified and his faults are reduced to molehills. This is a book for which so much has been offered and done by Marcos and his minions so that it would never see the light of print. Now that it is off the press. I entertain greater fear that so much more will be done to prevent its circulation, not only in the Philippines but also in the United States.But this work now belongs to history. Let it speak for itself in the context of developments within the coming months or years. Although it finds great relevance in the present life of the present life of the Filipinos and of Americans interested in the study of subversion of democratic governments by apparently legal means, this work seeks to find its proper niche in history which mustinevitably render its judgment on the seizure of government power from the people by a lame duck Philippine President.If I had finished this work immediately after my defection from the totalitarian regime of Ferdinand and Imelda, or after the vicious campaign of the dictatorship to vilify me in July-August. 1975, then I could have done so only in anger. Anger did influence my production of certain portions of the manu-script. However, as I put the finishing touches to my work, I found myself expurgating it of the personal venom, the virulence and intemperate language of my original draft.Some of the materials that went into this work had been of public knowledge in the Philippines. If I had used them, it was with the intention of utilizing them as links to heretofore unrevealed facets of the various ruses that Marcos employed to establish his dictatorship.Now, I have kept faith with the Filipino people. I have kept my rendezvous with history. I have, with this work, discharged my obligation to myself, my profession of journalism, my family and my country.I had one other compelling reason for coming out with this work at the great risks of being uprooted from my beloved country, of forced separation from my wife and children and losing their affection, and of losing everything I have in my name in the Philippines - or losing life itself. It is that I wanted to makea public expiation for the little influence that I had . . . .(more inside)

Reveals the story of the Marcos and the roles played by American business, organized crime, the CIA, and the White House

Until they were expelled from power thirty years ago, in early 1986, the late dictator Ferdinand and Imelda Marcos (she, the Shoe Queen) jointly ruled the Philippines with impunity for 20+ years. They were an efficient cash-and-carry team—while he raided the national till, she shopped 'til she dropped. In the words of the US congressman investigating them, "Compared to her (Imelda), Marie Antoinette was a bag lady," . . . while Ferdinand made master embezzler Bernie Madoff look like a rank amateur. With the passing of 30 years, this book becomes a full accounting of the rapacious and avaricious rule the pair enjoyed—how they hoodwinked an unsuspecting people, and the truth behind many of the dirty tricks they employed revealed at last. The present is an opportune time to take stock, especially as their only son and heir, Ferdinand, Jr., and others of his ilk, launches a comeback attempt for national office in this year's Philippine elections, and trying to re-fabricate history in the process. This book will set the record straight.

In 1966, Imelda Marcos was "e;rich, young, and beautiful, an Asian Jacqueline Kennedy."e; Years later, Benigno Aquino would call her "e;another Evita Peron,"e; referring to her ruthless ambition and seemingly insatiable desire for wealth and power. By 1986, she was in exile in Hawaii, having been driven from the country she and her husband had led for over twenty years.In Imelda Marcos, Filipino journalist Carmen Navarro Pedrosa tells the full story of Imelda's life: her tragically poor childhood and her subsequent drive to succeed socially, financially, and politically.A naive young woman from the provinces, Imelda garnered attention in 1953 as the winner of the Miss Manila contest and caught the eye of a rising young congressman, Ferdinand E. Marcos. After a courtship of eleven days, they were married. Under Ferdinand's stern tutelage, Imelda would emerge as his most important political asset and, later, as one of the wealthiest, most powerful women in the world.Based on years of research and in-depth interviews with both friends and foes of the Marcoses, this biography traces Imelda's life from her poverty-stricken origins to her present state of exile, providing insight not only into her character but also into the demise of the Marcos regime and the current turbulent political situation in the Philippines.

First released in 1969, during a time of great uncertainty for the Philippines, this unauthorized biography of one of the most intriguing women in the world was banned in her own country. For writing it, Carmen Pedrosa, with her family, was exiled to London for 20 years.Despite that, The Untold Story of Imelda Marcos became a local and international hit, selling out all of its print runs.Now, decades after the end of Martial Law, the book returns to tell the story of Imelda Romualdez-Marcos to a new generation.A modern Cinderella tale, The Untold Story of Imelda Marcos tells of how she rose from being a destitute child to becoming the most powerful woman of the country. Starry-eyed, penniless, and provincial, Imelda was in search of good fortune in Manila. Then came Ferdinand E. Marcos, a knight in shining armor, rescuing her from poverty and misery. "e;I will make you the First Lady of the land,"e; he promised her.Complete, detailed, and replete with facts and documents that have been painstakingly hidden from the public by the administration's image-makers, her life story unfolds, one truth at a time. It explains Imelda's much vaunted charisma that, in President Marcos' own words, garnered one million votes in the 1965 elections. She is a person who is difficult to be indifferent to. This book tells us why.