People don’t forget: History will make Imelda pay

By E. Maestro

Nakakainis na. Pero ano ba ang maaasahan natin? The Supreme Court (SC) made its decision to reverse the Sandiganbayan’s conviction of former First Lady Imelda Marcos on seven counts of graft last June 10, 2026. The SC made it public on September 8, well-timed as some people said, for the birthday on September 11 of the dead dictator Marcos Senior. Parang bang birthday gift. Pero sa nalalapit na ika-54 na anibersaryo ng batas militar ng diktador Marcos Senior, ipinakikita lang nito na ang kultura ng impunity at kawalan ng hustisya ay malalim, talamak, at kailangan labanan.

Balikan lang natin. In September 2018, the Sandiganbayan found Imelda Marcos guilty of graft and sentenced her to a maximum of 77 years (!) in prison – after nearly three decades when the charges were filed against her. Hindi nakulong si Madam. Nag-apela si Madam at nagpiyansa ng 300,000 pesos. Nakatakas sa pagkakulong dahil advanced age at poor health na daw siya. Sana all. Dahil ang daming nakakulong na political prisoners, matanda na sila at may-sakit pa, may mga kaso na gawa-gawa at naghihirap sa kondisyon sa loob ng bilangguan, pero bingi ang korte at gobyerno sa kanilang kalagayan. Ang suwerte talaga ni Madam.

In its statement, Migrante International, the biggest alliance of Filipinos overseas, condemned this SC decision amidst the Filipino people’s fight against all forms of government corruption under the Marcos Jr. regime. Below is the rest of the statement.

“We must remember. We cannot just ignore the recent acquittal of Imelda Marcos as a minor event in the midst of the deafening noise of corruption hearings, impeachment, unserved ICC warrants, and feigned medical alibis of the criminally accused.

We must remember, that long before the images of maleta loads of cash, and the stacks of money inside a government office, we must recall how the world was appalled by the images of crates of money, jewelry, artworks loaded by the Marcos family on board their plane en route to their escape to Hawaii on February 26, 1986, the triumph of the EDSA people power revolution.

We must remember that the Presidential Commission on Good Government created after EDSA estimated $10 billion or P589 billion worth of ill-gotten wealth plundered by Ferdinand E. Marcos and his family and cronies, of which only P174.2 billion has been retrieved as of September 2021, as reported by Rappler.

We must realize that the heirs of Marcos. including Imelda Marcos, have never spent a single day in jail for the ill-gotten wealth that benefited their family, instead, they have returned to power as president, senators, representative, governor at one time or another, and have recovered their wealth, power and political prestige.

And now, comes the impunity of Imelda Marcos for the crimes for which she was formerly held guilty by the Sandiganbayan, due to alleged weakness of the prosecution.

Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat them.

We must remember and demand accountability and justice. There should be no gratuitous exemption. Presidents, vice presidents, parliamentarians and even justices, must all stand the scrutiny of the people’s anger. It is not enough for them to be virtuous but to be above suspicion, like Caesar’s wife. As Marcos Jr himself has anticipated the obvious, he claimed that the acquittal of his mother by the Supreme Court has no bearing on his choice of the next Chief Justice in the months ahead.

The Marcoses have long worked to cover their crimes against the Filipino people, distort history, and evade accountability But the people see, and the people remember. The mills of the people may grind slowly, but they grind exceedingly small.

As the anniversary of the declaration of Marcos Sr’s Martial Law nears, Migrante International calls on all Filipino migrant workers all over the world to protest against impunity, rampant government corruption and systematic plunder of our country’s resources. Let us demand that Imelda, his son and all government officials who have caused the suffering of millions of ordinary Filipinos be brought to justice. Let us demand an end to the longstanding political system that allows corrupt government officials to rule and enrich themselves.”

Hindi nakakalimot ang taumbayan. Sa ika-54 na anibersaryo ng batas militar, maririnig ang boses na kailangan maninigil at managot ang lahat, hanggang sa tuktok! Palagay ko, magbabaha muli ang mga pagkilos bilang paggunita sa pagdeklara ng batas militar noong ika-21 ng Setyembre 1972. ###

CAPTION: Photo credit: Project Gunita FB