SOUTHEAST ASIAN LETTER
As the new Philippine President, Bongbong Marcos, will be officially sworn in on June 30, following a landslide victory over his rivals, speculation is rife about what will happen to the President’s Commission for the Recovery of Ill Assets. acquired from the Marcos. Created in 1986 by President Corazon Aquino after the fall of Ferdinand Marcos Sr., this agency, which reports directly to the Head of State, has carried out investigations which have already made it possible to recover between 3.5 and 5 billion dollars looted by the clan under the dictatorship.
His hard work often depended on who resided at Malacanang, the presidential palace. After some inertia during the Gloria Arroyo years (2001-2010), the agency found some teeth under Benigno Aquino III (2010-2016) – the son of Corazon Aquino and murdered dissident Ninoy Aquino. So much so that its then commissioner, Andres Bautista, decided to go into exile after the rise to power of Rodrigo Duterte, a supporter of the Marcos, to escape legal proceedings. On May 13, Mr. Bautista was publicly taken to task by the new president’s spokesperson. In question, his comments after a Picasso identical to a replica previously seized by the commission was seen in the apartment of Imelda Marcos when her son came to visit her the day after her victory.
At 92, the widow Marcos has been on parole since her conviction in 2018 for the embezzlement of millions of dollars to foundations in Switzerland when she served as minister of housing and governor of Manila, between 1976 and 1986 . “The purpose of creating these entities is certainly not charitable, educational, religious or otherwise serving the public interest,” had assaulted the court, but “for the private benefit of the Marcos family”. The conviction of M.me Will Marcos be confirmed on appeal, one wonders, now that his son is head of state, and if so, will he grant him a presidential pardon?
Imelda Marcos and her 3,000 pairs of shoes
The cult of money is inseparable from the reign of the Marcos. “Marcos always said to me: ‘Me, I have no equal when it comes to making money. And you, to spend it, choosing the most beautiful things.candidly recounts the dictator’s wife in Imelda Marcos, in the shadow of powera documentary by Lauren Greenfield released in 2019. In the years of martial law, Imelda organized lavish parties in Malacanang, where she invited celebrities – such as Italian actress Gina Lollobrigida, for New Year’s Eve in 1976, on a floating casino in Manila Bay.
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