The Marcos Family

We have all heard about Ferdinand Marcos who ruled The Philippines from 1965 until 1985, the first eight years as an elected President and the later twelve years as a dictator.

Inside the Marcos cottage

One of the first things you realize when you visit Ilocos Norte is that there is a whole Marcos clan - not just the Ferdinand and Imelda we are familair with.  Ilocos Norte is the Marcos home province.  His daughter is the current governor of this province.  His wife Imelda is currently a representative in the Philippine congress.  The family lives on.

Kathleen searching for the shoes

On Tuesday last week we visited the Marcos summer home near Laoag. Marcos was very interested in architecture and enjoyed drawing building plans.  He is credited with the design of the summer house we visited, as well as designing many public buildings and initiating many of the Philippines road network projects .  It made me think of another famous man who designed grand buildings and ordered the construction of futuristic highways in the 1930s.  The parallels are striking.

In Canada we generally do not have a positive impression of the Marcos clan.  The first thing that comes to Kathleen's mind is Imelda's shoe collection.  For me I think of the the billions of dollars squirelled away in foreign bank accounts and the shooting of Benigno Aquino (a Marcos political rival) as he stepped off the plane on his return to the Philippines from exile in 1983.  Imelda is quoted as saying, "Yes the Filipinos are living in slums and hovels. But what counts is the human spirit and the Filipinos are smiling, They smile because they are a little healthy, a little educated and a little loved."  It made Kathleen think of Marie Antoinette and the "let them eat cake" comment - out of touch with what her subjects were living through.

Filipinos and a Marcos Mannequin

And yet despite all this, many Filipinos venerate Marcos. On Wednesday we visited the Marcos museum in Batac about 20 km from Laoag.  Filipinos must be the most forgiving people in the world.  They are always prepared to see the best in someone, so around here Ferdinand Marcos is still a hero.  He is remembered for all the infrastructure projects he started here and as a war hero (WWII).  Imelda is still thought of as the "queen"  of Ilocos Norte.  The Marcos museum paints a glowing picture of the man and makes him out to be the Philippines equivalent of Abraham Lincoln and Winston Churchill rolled into one.

I had a hard time reconciling the two views of Marcos.  I have a lot of respect for the people I met in Ilocos Norte, but at the same time, I find it hard to ignore the history books.