The Filipino Profiles

Imelda R. Marcos is the widow of former President Ferdinand Marcos, and is herself an influential political figure in the Philippines. She is sometimes referred to as the Steel Butterfly or the Iron Butterfly.

Imelda was born on July 2, 1929 in San Juan de Dios Hospital in Manila. Her parents were Vicente Orestes Lopez Romuáldez (of Spanish-Chinese-Filipino blood) and Remedios Trinidad (1902–1938), the second wife of the widowed Vicente. She is of Visayan and Tagalog descent. Her paternal ancestors, the wealthy and prominent Lopezes of Leyte, claimed to have founded the town of Tolosa, Leyte. Her own branch of the family was not political. Her father was a scholarly man more interested in music and culture than in public life. Her mother, Remedios Trinidad, a dressmaker who grew up in an orphanage in Manila, said to have been an illegitimate offspring of a friar, was from the town of Baliuag, Bulacan.

Marcos spent her childhood in the shadow of the Malacañang Palace in San Miguel District in Manila, since her family then lived near San Miguel Church. After Marcos’s mother Remedios died, and their home foreclosed, her father, Vicente, moved his family back to Leyte to live with relatives, where Marcos earned a bachelor’s degree in education at St. Paul’s College.”

She became a beauty queen and at the age of 18 was crowned the “Rose of Tacloban.” She later became “Miss Leyte” and went to Manila in 1953. Her photogenic face soon graced many of Manila’s magazine covers and she was named the “Muse of Manila” by then Manila Mayor, Arsenio Lacson, a special title given her after she protested her loss in the Miss Manila pageant. In 1954, Marcos met then-Ilocos Norte Congressman Ferdinand E. Marcos. After a whirlwind courtship in Baguio during Holy Week, they were married in May of that year at the Manila Pro-Cathedral Church with President Ramon Magsaysay as principal sponsor. They have four children: Maria Imelda “Imee” Marcos, Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos, Jr., Irene Marcos, and Aimee Marcos, who was adopted.

In 1966, Ferdinand Marcos became the 10th President of the Philippines. Together with Imelda, he would rule the Philippines from September 21, 1972 up to his removal in February 1986 in the famous People Power Revolution when he fled the Philippines.

In December 1965, Ferdinand E. Marcos became the 10th Philippine President of the Philippines.Imelda Marcos was considered one of the most beautiful first ladies the Philippines had ever seen.

In 1992, Mrs. Marcos ran and finished fifth in the seven-way presidential race. Her votes were split between her, with 2,338,294 votes, and Ambassador Eduardo Cojuangco, Jr., a Marcos crony, with 4,116,376 votes. Fidel Ramos, the candidate endorsed by Corazon Aquino, received 5.3 million and won the election. In 1995, she was elected Congresswoman of Leyte, representing the first district of her home province.

In 1998, she made another bid for the presidency but later backed out of the race to support the candidacy of then Vice President Joseph Ejercito Estrada. Marcos finished 9th among 11 candidates vying for the Philippine government’s top post. During the administration of her friend and ally, President Joseph Estrada, many of the cases filed by the Aquino government were dismissed by Ombudsman Aniano Desierto, owing to technicalities (lapse of the prescriptive period for filing cases). On June 29, 1998, the Sandiganbayan (Philippine anti-corruption court) convicted the Former First Lady of the charge that she had entered into an agreement disadvantageous to the government. On appeal, the Supreme Court reversed the decision and cited Sandiganbayan Justice Francis Gatchitorena for his alleged bias against Mrs. Marcos.[

Marcos is currently running for Representative in Ilocos Norte in the 2010 elections, to replace her son, incumbent Rep. Ferdinand Marcos, Jr., who is running for Senator under the Nacionalista Party.

Other Information

• Born : July 2, 1929
• Birth place : Manila, Philippines
• Birth name : Imelda Remedios Visitacion Trinidad Romuáldez
• Nationality : Filipino
• Political party : Nacionalista (2009–present)
• Other political affiliations : Kilusang Bagong Lipunan (1978–2009)
• Spouse : Ferdinand Marcos (1954–1989)
• Children : Imee, Ferdinand, Irene, Aimee (adopted)
• Alma mater : St. Paul's College
• Religion : Roman Catholic

Links

• Photos Imelda Marcos jewelry-Roumeloites collection
• Marcos Presidential Center
• Imelda's crown jewels to go under the hammer
• A Showcase of Extravagance: Imelda Marcos
• The wit and wisdom of Imelda Marcos (or, why Filipinos have no sense of irony whatsoever.)
• "Imelda"-Independent Lens Documentary on Imelda Marcos
• Imelda Marcos arrest ordered
• Her Greatest Admirer: A documentary about Imelda Marcos reveals an extraordinary capacity for self-delusion
• PCGG eye settlement