BATAC, Philippines — More than two decades after former President Ferdinand E. Marcos died

in disgrace in Hawaii, the Philippine government says it is formally considering his family’s

longstanding demand for a burial with honors in a cemetery reserved for presidents and other

prominent figures.

A visit to this town 280 miles north of Manila in Ilocos Norte Province is a reminder of the power

of family ties in a country still controlled by oligarchies and animated by personal loyalties.

His widow, Imelda, has refused to bury him elsewhere, and his body is now preserved in a

back-lit transparent box in a hushed mausoleum open to the public here in his hometown in

the northern Philippines.

Mr. Marcos fled the country in 1986 in the face of a “people power” uprising that installed

Mr. Aquino’s mother, Corazon, as president. He died in 1989 at the age of 72, still claiming

to be the rightful president, still trying to return. In 1993, the government allowed his widow

to bring his body home but refused her demand for a hero’s burial.

The body, looking remarkably young, lies on a white satin sheet, medals pinned smartly to the chest,

toes pointing upward in their black shoes.

HR 1135 noted that Marcos “built the modern foundations of the Philippines” as its

“longest serving president.” “He was responsible for the construction of vast infrastructure,

the utilization of our energy sources, and the strengthening of local governments.” No mention

of the fact that these projects (e.g. the Bataan Nuclear Power Plant) were financed by foreign

institutions like World Bank and International Monetary Fund, and that the bulk of these were

pocketed by who else?

In 2004, Transparency International ranked Marcos as the 2^nd most corrupt leader in the world,

next only to Indonesia’s Suharto[3]. His loot was pegged at $10 billion. In fact, a government body

was created to try to recover the Marcoses’ ill-gotten wealth.

Ferdinand Emmanuel Edralin Marcos (September 11, 1917 – September 28, 1989)

was President of the Philippines from 1965 to 1986. He was a lawyer, member of the

Philippine House of Representatives (1949–1959) and a member of the Philippine Senate (1959–1965).

He was Senate President from 1963–1965.

In 1983, his government was accused of being involved in the assassination of his

primary political opponent, Benigno Aquino, Jr. Public outrage over the assassination

served as the catalyst for the People Power Revolution in February 1986 that led to his

removal from power and eventual exile in Hawaii. It was later discovered that, during

his 20 years in power, he and his wife Imelda Marcos had moved billions of dollars of

embezzled public funds to accounts and investments in the United States, Switzerland,

and other countries.

Marcos attended college at the University of the Philippines, attending the prestigious

College of Law. He excelled in both curricular and extra-curricular activities, he was a

valuable member of the university's swimming team, boxing, and wrestling. He was also

an accomplished and prolific orator, debater, and writer of the university's newspaper.

He also became a member of the ROTC and later an instructor of the subject. He took

the 1939 bar exam and topped it with almost a perfect score despite the fact that he was

incarcerated when he was reviewing.

In 1939, while incarcerated, Ferdinand Marcos graduated cum laude. If he had not been

put in jail for twenty seven days, he would have graduated magna cum laude. He was elected

to the Pi Gamma Mu international honor society, and the Phi Kappa Phi international honor

society which, 37 years later gave him its Most Distinguished Member Award.

The Gifted Child

In Seagrave's book "The Marcos Dynasty", he mentioned that Marcos possess a

phenomenal memory and exhibit this by "memorizing complicated texts and reciting

forward and backward" such as the 1935 Constitution of the Philippines. Also in an interview

with Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago by the Philippine Star in March 25, 2012 she shared

her experience as a speech writer to President Marcos: "one time, the Secretary of Justice

forgot to tell me that the President had requested him to draft a speech that the President

was going to deliver before graduates of the law school. And then, on the day the President

was to deliver the speech, he suddenly remembered because Malacañang was asking for

the speech, so he said, “This is an emergency. You just have to produce something.“ And I

just dictated the speech. He liked long speeches. I think that was 20 or 25 pages. And then,

in the evening, I was there, of course. President Marcos recited the speech from memory."

Personal life

He was married to Imelda Romualdez-Marcos, on May 1, 1954 the couple had three children:

• Maria Imelda "Imee" Marcos (born November 12, 1955) Governor of Ilocos Norte
• Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos, Jr. (born September 13, 1957) Senator of the Philippines
• Irene Marcos

“He should stay here where people can see him,” he said. “If they bury him, he will decompose

and be gone.” - From The New York Times by Seth Mydans.