banks as early as 1968, funds in Swiss bank accounts determined to be illegally obtained, among others, were not among the assets of the FEMF. Both returned home without a degree.Īfter Marcos was deposed in 1986, it became clear that besides the money spent on their children’s education, properties purchased abroad, deposits made in U.S. Neither of the two Marcos children, Imee and Bongbong, who studied in universities abroad obtained scholarships. Expenditures included tuition, allowances, housing, and donations. The first couple poured millions of dollars into their children’s education, money that courts have ruled could not have been legally obtained. In his 1970 statement and other speeches, Marcos only said that “ will be made for children, so that they shall be assured of satisfactory education and be prepared to meet their lifetime duties and endeavors.” A 2003 decision written by former chief justice Renato Corona noted that Marcos Sr.’s income tax return just before becoming president “did not show any receivables from client at all” and there were “no documents showing any withholding tax certificates.”Ī Manila Bulletin article discussed in the Philippine Weekly Economic Review noted that Marcos Sr.’s “properties, savings and investments go to the people through a foundation which will be used to advance education, science, technology and the arts,” but “did not specify” which assets or if these included conjugal properties with Imelda. A wire story published in the Miami Herald mentioned that in 1968, “Marcos was listed for the first time among the Philippines’ top 100 income taxpayers” with the equivalent of over $160,000 “mostly from legal fees earned before he became president in 1965” even though his annual salary” was only $15,000. Marcos Sr.’s announcement made headlines even in foreign media, quoting his statement. In a statement, the chief executive said he was motivated by “the strongest desire and the purest will to set the example of self-denial and self-sacrifice for all people.” Records of the Security and Exchange Commission show that FEMF filed its articles of incorporation and by-laws on January 21, 1970, but in her book Marcos Martial Law: Never Again, author Raissa Robles said that the foundation’ registration had already been revoked by 2015. publicly announced that he was putting all of his wealth in a foundation bearing his name. In 1970, at the start of his second term as president, Marcos Sr. Such distortion of the truth then mutated into the scams that further propagated the myth of bounty for loyalty to the Marcoses. Ambiguous claims regarding FEMF’s funding sources and purpose became a basis for the Marcos family’s improbable vow to share their wealth. Marcos Foundation (FEMF) that did appear to serve a charitable purpose, in contrast to several other Marcos “foundations” that clearly functioned to help the family retain wealth that is far beyond what they could have legally earned. Many loyalists believe that promise that was often repeated by Bongbong’s mother, Imelda.ĭocuments, however, show that Marcos Sr. It seems safe to say, at least based on social media, that some who voted for Bongbong did so based on these claims, including the narrative that the family’s wealth would be used for the benefit of the entire country should a Marcos reoccupy Malacañang. Near the end of the livestream, Cobarrubias claimed that the former dictator, on his deathbed, said that only 3% of his wealth would be kept for his family and the rest of his assets worldwide “should go to the Filipino people.” Rita Gadi and Cherry Cobarrubias, screencap from the Katipunan ng Demokratikong Pilipino YouTube channel Gadi, Marcos regime propagandist, insisted that there is no evidence that Marcos Sr.’s wealth came from the state’s coffers. Two of them, businessperson Serafia “Cherry” Cobarrubias and broadcaster/writer Rita Gadi, shared their joy-and pro-Marcos propaganda-on the livestreamed program of the latter, The Rita Gadi Hour, a few weeks after the May 9 elections.Ĭobarrubias, who reportedly helped fund the December 1989 coup attempt against Corazon Aquino, insisted that Bongbong’s win was a miracle that “the voice of God is the voice of the people” and that members of the clergy who spoke against Bongbong should be ashamed of themselves and ask for forgiveness. Many of the so-called Marcos loyalists are, of course, ecstatic. ![]() becomes the 17th president of the Republic of the Philippines. Tomorrow, Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.
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