10 Shades of Marcos
Modern systems of autocratic power could be seen in the Philippines. In the seventies they provided the evidence validating the use of the method of false facts, which was primarily used to preserve the status quo power. Ferdinand Edralin Marcos, in the years 1966 - 1986 was the absolute ruler of the Republic of the Philippines, a master of manipulating the electoral system. For example, when the elections were approaching, Marcos was in need for the successes of propaganda. At the same time his completely falsified autobiography came out. It was written in it that Marcos was fearlessly fought against the Japanese. For his service on the battlefield, he supposedly received about twenty awards and honorable Filipino American Medal of Honor. As the president, he mysteriously lost all his distinctions, the United States authorities have sent him another immediately. The Philippine Army did similarly. In fact, Marcos fought during World War II on the side of the Axis and therefore favored the Japanese. The example of the falsification of historical facts applies not only to the propaganda of the Philippine government, but also shows the government of the United States in a negative light. The US State Department has forgotten the real participation of Marcos in the conflict between the Philippines and Japan and, being far from the truth, gave him the Medal of Honor.
The Saint
It is not true that I believe Marcos to be the God – patiently explains the smiling Filipino gardener, Rodolfo – Marcos is the only holy messiah sent by the Christ to bring us to the new Jerusalem. Cabusao also built a very modest church, which, at the entrance, has a picture of "Sacred Heart of Jesus" hanged, which can be found in many Catholic churches. However, this one has a little difference – the man pointing to his pulsing, glowing heart has features of Ferdinand Marcos, the Philippine dictator. The caption under the portrait states: "The Philippine Sheep, the Witness of God." This is very controversial - they described him in the press and the Catholic Church condemned him. Many men recognize Marcos as a tool in God’s hands. Once a man had a vision. Marcos appeared to him and said, "You were looking for a new Jerusalem for a long time, but it is here" – and pointed the finger at himself. "You?" – the man exclaimed. "But the newspapers say that you kill, and steal!" "Have you forgotten what your mother had taught you? The word is: Jerusalem" – said Marcos and disappeared. A man who once was a tailor, with the help of family built the church and became a priest. On the last Saturday of the month, hundred worshipers gather at the temple to raise their prayers to their heroes. For them the Bible has announced the coming of Marcos.
Pharaoh
Batac, a small town in the province of Illocos Norte, on the very north of Luzon – Marcos’ bastion. He was born there, invested state funds and had his faithful people, with whom he would fill government positions. In the fully air-conditioned crypt, lies a Filipino Lenin. But Batac is not Moscow. Marcos had built his clan for 37 years - firstly as a deputy, senator and then president. His spirit had never left the Philippines. In 1991, President Aquino allowed the Marcos’ family to go back home. In such way the funerals of the Pharaohs must have had looked like – a person once said. From the airport, the coffin was transported in a horse-drawn carriage; the military orchestra played music and on the lanterns hung slogans that said "One nation, one spirit". A real funeral was not held even until this day. The family decided that the only place where Marcos is worthy of rest, is the Heroes’ Cemetery in Manila. The subsequent governments, under the pressure of the public opinion, refuse him that privilege. The Marcos family lament that such a great president, even after death, has no peace. However, the majority of Filipinos would prefer to see the dictator a meter below ground with a heart pierced by a stake.
The Shaman
Even Marcos’ enemies admit that he was a political genius. He knew who to buy, who to promise something, who to scare – for that he had a great survival instinct and ruthlessness. He was a master of illusion – Marcos created his own legend. In his official biography, the only thing that was real was his date of birth – September 11, 1917. He said that during the World War II, he commanded the partisan fighting against the Japanese, he made the most highly distincted soldier in the history of the Philippines. The historians have proven his lies. However, what really did during the war is unknown. "He was a shaman” – writes Charles McDougald in his book titled "The Marcos File" – “a mystic full of faith in his superhuman strength and the ability to control events." Marcos was obsessed with being the best in every area – he could not be a soldier, he had to be a superman; he could not simply be president, he had become the father of the nation, glorified by the country and admired by the world. His position as being the second one after the God was not satisfying for Marcos; he wanted to be in the first place. However, the Filipinos have had a lot of luck – it was not easy to rule eight thousand islands with an iron fist. Moreover, the colonial subjugation of Spain and the United States irreversibly destroyed the traditional Filipino culture and created a new one – a blend of Latin laziness and American individualism. Such a nation would not willingly put its head on the chopping block.
The Dictator
Marcos has formed his life goal very early – it was to become the president of the Philippines. He was extremely determined and consistently pursued his dream. In 1965 he was nominated for running for the presidency. In his campaign, Marcos promised to unite the country, which was broken into dozens of "states" that had their own armies. He assured that he would finally close the colonial chapter of the Philippines’ history, the country would become independent from Washington, gain "real independence". Marcos won the elections – this success was repeated for the next four years. The first years of his reign were not bad: Marcos had improved the state of the economy and many Filipinos said that they "regained a sense of national pride." Marcos, however, could not fulfill the promises of the suppression of corruption, crony capitalism and feudalism, because these “diseases” were the sources of his power. During this time, many villages were below the poverty line. Marcos could not stay for the third presidency, but he was not going to give up the power he gained. In September, 1972, a failed "communist" attack on the minister of defense has become a pretext for a state of emergency. At that time, Marcos awarded himself the executive, legislative and judicial power. He took over all of the media and ordered to arrest potential "rebels and criminals", who were either dissidents or journalists. The army, which was equipped with police powers, could not only stop people suspected of crimes against state security, but also those who were "spreading false rumors", committed frauds, kidnappings, speculated and even went fishing without permission. Many military tribunals were created at that time. An organization called SELDA has documented 120 thousand cases of imprisonment, 1.5 thousand disappearances, 3 thousand executions as well as assassinations from this period of time. Tortures, kidnappings and executions became the policies of the regime.
The Reformer
Marcos declared a "democratic revolution" and the beginning of the New Society. However, in the reality, this “ideology” was Marcos himself. He did not mean to fight against communism and to restore order, but only to eliminate his opposition and put his men in all of the higher positions in the society. A large part of the population saw hope in this “state of an emergency”. At that time it was announced that the peasants are now the owners of the land they work on – but the huge plantations of sugar cane and coconut, which were managed by the people of the president were excluded from the reform. As a result, the reform covered only 14 percent of the arable land. In 1981 the state of an emergency was abolished – this act was treated as a bow to the new president of the United States, Ronald Reagan and the Pope, who was going with a visit to the Philippines. However, nothing had changed – the president still issued decrees, the elections were a mockery of democracy, and the army was as strong as ever. Moreover, from the local thugs policemen were created – the local arm and ear of the presidential justice. President with the use of decrees expropriated owners of many companies, nationalized industries and gave them into the hands of his trusted people. Later, he admitted them gigantic government loans, and raised taxes. For 18 years under Marcos’ reign (1965 - 1983) the number of Filipinos living below the poverty line increased from 48 to 70 percent. Rural residents migrated to Manila, creating slums in the capital city. In 1975 - 1980 the foreign debt had quadrupled to more than 10 billion dollars. When in 1986 the official data were authenticated, it was found that the actual debt was 24 billion dollars. At that time Marcos began to be afraid of losing his power.
The Fugitive
Cardinal Jaime Sin offered Marcos the last chance to avoid a bloody revolution: free elections, free press, independent courts, legal opposition and the Reconciliation Council. Marcos said "no" – his power caused him to be sick. For the beginning of 1986, Marcos appointed presidential elections. He thought that, as usual, he could fake those results as well and did not bother about the opponent put forward by the opposition – Corazon Aquino. On February 16 they both claimed their victory. But people no longer believed Marcos. On the streets of Manila, nearly one million people chanted: "Cory! Cory!". State television, Marcos’ banks and the products manufactured by his companies began to boycott. The history of the Philippines would probably turn out to be different if Marcos would not be betrayed by the two senior officials of his regime – Juan Ponce Enrile and Fidel Ramos. When on February 21 the assassination of Marcos they had planned failed, they knew that their days are numbered. Enrile and Ramos with two hundred soldiers locked themselves in the building of the Ministry of Defense, announcing that they recognize Aquino as the president. It looked like a hopeless act of heroism, as Marcos had 260 thousand soldiers. Cardinal Sin, urged by the church Radio Veritas that people form "a living shield" surrounding the camp of the rebels. Many students went out to the streets, as well as workers, nuns, doctors, housewives and businessmen. Then Marcos sent his troops. Confused soldiers were greeted with flowers and food. Defenseless human barricade stopped tanks and the new soldiers that were ordered to stop the rebellion, joined them instead. On the third day the US ambassador delivered Marcos a message from Reagan – the United States of America was ready to accept him if there is no bloodshed. He did not believe it. He called Washington asking if he could stay one more year, maybe introduce reforms and share his power with the US. The answer he received was ruthless: “Mr. President, your time has come.” After a long silence Marcos whispered: “I am so disappointed.” On the same day, during the evening he left with his family to the US base on Guam and later on he traveled to Hawaii.
The Thief
The Guinness Book called Marcos “the greatest thief in history of the world”. How much did he steal – it still remains unknown: several billion dollars, maybe a few dozen, some even estimate the current family fortune to be an incredible sum of one thousand million dollars. The tales of hidden richnesses capture the imaginations, and the attempts to track down the stolen money are the origin of the conspiracy theories.
The Unpunished One
No Filipino court has sentenced any of the former people with power – even though only against Imelda herself, about a hundred cases were brought. Recently, at a conference the creation of the Truth Commission was proposed. “The Truth Commission is unnecessary, because in this country the truth is always told” said President Estrada and stated that a state of emergency is "a terrible part of Philippine history," so it should be forgotten. But what was Marcos’ worst crime? Not introducing the state of an emergency, but the fact that he showed Filipinos that they can steal, kill and remain unpunished.
The Actor
Many decrees of the “state of emergency” are in force today. Under the guise of fighting terrorism, it has overthrown its political opponents. During the last year Estrada’s popularity fell dramatically. But Estrada is not Marcos. With his love for alcohol, night games and a bunch of illegitimate children, he is more like a fake Filipino Elvis. Estrada does not steal, many people believe that he really wants to help the poor and improve the state of the economy, but the only problem is that he does not know how. The Philippines, which pretty safely survived the Asian financial crisis and were typed on a new "tiger", are now lagging behind compared to its neighbors. For the poor, life looks like the one from 20 years ago, with the daily fear of what to put on a plate and whether they will have jobs as well as security – feudalism is still the plague of the Philippines. There was also an increase in the frequency of attacks of the Communists and Muslims. Kidnappings for ransom have become a plague too. When one of the citizens from Manila was asked why Philippines were never awaited the reform of the land, he said “They share and divide this land for years between each other. Here is where you can find all of the great actors. The same is true of democracy – the elections are held instead of it. The winner is the one who has the most money and connections.
The Phantom
How is it possible that Ferdinand Marcos still has supporters? Why did his wife and daughter were selected to the parliament, and his son elected for the governor? Where do all of these thousands of supporters of Imelda, who is proud to announce that the "state of emergency was the best thing that had happened in the history of the Philippines", and her presidential ambitions come from? Why are the heirs of "the greatest thief in the world" untouchable? There is not a single right answer to these questions. Everyone has his own theory. For Cardinal Sin, the Marcos family has money and those kind of greedy people are not missing in today’s society. Max Soliven stated that “we still did not finish this revolution”. And for Marie Enriquez, Filipinos have a short memory and easily forgive. They say "live and let live". Marcos has returned. He is like a monster in the last minutes of a horror movie – when all of the characters take a sigh of a relief, the creature comes back to life. Fortunately, it lacks its old teeth. Filipinos, taught by the experience, have an allergic reaction to every manifestation of authoritarian tendencies. Dictatorship is very unlikely to threaten them. This is why Marcos is not a monster, but only a phantom – and the ancient art of chasing away evil spirits has not died yet in the Philippines.
