Imee
Marcos on Marcos Fact and Fiction
Biznews Asia Coverstory
October 21, 2002
Representative
Imee Marcos says "It's time for the people to hear what we have to
say," And shares her memory of history in this BizNews Asia exclusive
interview.
On martial
law vis-a-vis current conditions
Conditions are getting worse, making many people remember the way things
were then. I share their suspicion that there is even a level of remembrance
of things past-when it was safe to talk in the streets and food was a
lot cheaper and people had a right to plan for the future.
On Marcos'
economic accomplishments
I know the Philippines was exporting rice during that time and that the
highest per capita income was reached in 1981. I think it is important
to go back to that. But I don't know if private business would be universally
complementary, perhaps his (Ferdinand Marcos') critics are not saying
it anymore.
On condition
that led to martial law
The unfortunate thing is that 30 years after martial law, after so many
things have happened and a number of EDSA revolts have been seen in our
time, the causes for the declaration of martial law in the first place,
after them. Why are we going back to America and calling them terrorists
again? They say martial law was a failure; a failure to negotiate. But
it is the same now. I guess we need a new millenium solution to these
problems. A new approach. But we can only do that if we assess the past,
so we don't repeat mistakes over and over.
On Ferdinand
Marcos' critics
I'm not in the business of disputing what they want to say. It's all right
that people went their feeling after 20 years but it is also time that
the other side is heard. I'm not saying history should be rewritten but
it is time that we return to the facts.
On being
a child of a "dictator"
I don't even remember. It's probably because I come from a very political
family; 100 years of politics on my father's side and 200 years on my
mother's side. I do not pay too much heed to this demonizing and criticism.
Which is not to say I don't listen. On one hand, I was overprotected.
But I studied in UP and I'm naturally very curious. I don't remember the
first time I heard that word. But dictator feels much, much better than
murderer and land grabber. In the Senate, particularly, before he (Ferdinand
Marcos) ran for office, there were all kinds of horrible names attributed
to my mother and father. So, I just ignore it. But they still say it today.
I guess it has some use for some people. But for the academic, it is better
to stay away from this loaded kind of language. I think that after 1981,
the word was constitutional authoritarianism. But many say this was not
too different from martial law.
On Marcos'
human rights violations
My father talked about it a great deal. He said the military had been
abusive and repressive and there was a need to rectify what we had been
done, but he was having extreme difficulty in prosecuting and gathering
evidence. But I think it should be clear that torture was never a matter
of policy. He didn't order the military to do these things.
On Marcos' mistakes
He said the purging of the bureaucracy failed and you have to back track
significantly. Do you remember 'Black Friday?' It was a list of high-government
officials that were to be purged. But if you do that, you only skim the
top and the rest will not work for you. Most likely, they will work against
you or be too scared to work at all. My father said the military had begun
to again ideology but then their habits were not ready for it. He also
said there was need for institution building, a mature economy, and the
growth of the middle class.
On People's
Revolt of 1986
At a certain lever, I' m very Pinoy. I don't know if there is a right
way. Sometimes destiny takes over and you just happen to be there. I suppose
it is destiny because the things that happened were not typical of the
people who did it. Too many unexpected things happened that I couldn't
explain. Maybe, at the end of the day, there simply are limits to logic.
I can't explain it. Because, my father was the most in-charge leader you
ever met. And here he was, he simply wouldn't fight back. His statements
were clear. In his last pleading in Supreme Court-Marcos versus Manglapus-he
explained that he was courageous when he battled against foreigners. But
if it's a fellow Filipino, he could not fight. It was so atypical.
On correcting
unfavorable impressions
Just want people who knew something and have something to say to write
what happened. It's okay to criticize or to lambast him (Marcos). But
they should also recognize what he did for the country. I think it is
also time for the people to listen to what we say. That's why we put up
the Marcos Presidential Center website. It's a research site for high
school and elementary students. Basically, I would like people to write,
not necessarily puff pieces.