Thursday, April 12, 2007

Still Imeldific

(Bloomberg) -- Imelda Marcos, former First Lady of the Philippines, glides into the living room of her Manila apartment in a black pantsuit attended by four servants.

At 77, the widow of the ousted President Ferdinand Marcos retains the regal bearing of her years in power as well as her trademark bouffant. ``My hair goes down to my knees,'' she says. ``I have an expert girl who combs my hair. She's been with me for 42 years, so she does it quickly.''

On the feet of the woman once known for the thousands of shoes in her palace closets? I saw plain black leather slippers.

In the course of two days, three venues and about eight hours of conversation, Marcos talks about her husband's gold hoard, her grandson's jewelry line, her encounters with world leaders, exile in Hawaii, notoriety in New York, the concept of ``Imeldific'' and a personal philosophy that blends math, mothering and the Bible.

Marcos still has the power to charm even Filipinos who deride her. I grew up in the Philippines under martial law and moved to New York in 1992. Few of my generation and older have forgotten how our country was ground into poverty under her husband's rule while the rest of Asia bred vibrant Tiger economies.

Ferdinand Marcos was overthrown in 1986 and died in exile in Hawaii in 1989. Imelda Marcos returned to Manila in 1991 and has been involved in numerous court cases in the U.S. and the Philippines over allegations of corruption, amassing illegal wealth and illegally maintaining Swiss bank accounts holding more than $500 million... full story here

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