On September 11, 1917, Josefa Edralin gave birth to her eldest son with Mariano Marcos. They named him Ferdinand Emmanuel. Mariano went to Manila for his education and went back to Laoag, Ilocos Norte to teach. He eventually ventured into politics and served two terms as a Congressman. Josefa is also a teacher.
He went to the public school in his birthplace for some time before moving to Manila. He maintained his excellent school record from that day on. He went to University of the Philippines for his college education. He outdid everyone else in all the classes he attended and this included extra curricular activities. He was an excellent boxer, wrestler and swimmer. He even got a medal in the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps that was new in universities back then.
Ferdinand was more known for his dictatorship than the good things that he did for the country. This dates back to his father. When Mariano lost to his political rival Julio Nalundasan more than twice, Julio was shot and killed a couple of days after the last election. The circumstances of the situation made it inevitable for the Mariano and his son to be in the bad light. A couple of months before Ferdinand was to graduate magna cum laude, he was arrested and charged with the murder of Julio. He studied for his exams in a jail cell. He lost the trial in the lower court and filed an appeal straight to the Supreme Court. He defended himself (yes, he was his own lawyer), and it did not take long before he was acquitted.
This brilliant man also served his country in World War II. He emerged victorious in some of the infiltration missions that he led but was eventually captured. He was one of the prisoners who were part of the infamous Death March. They were made to walk from Bataan to the prison in Tarlac where the young Ferdinand would suffer from several diseases before his release a couple of months later. He was captured yet again and was detained in Fort Santiago to be tortured again. He eventually escaped and joined the underground army and tried to unite all factions to defeat the Japanese.
His proper induction to politics was when he became President Manuel Roxas’ technical assistant. He moved on to serve as a Congressman in the House of Representatives. It was around this time when he met former beauty queen from Leyte, Imelda Romualdez. They married literally within weeks after. President Ramon Magsaysay was the principal sponsor and the reception was held at the Palace. It was dubbed as the Wedding of the Year in 1954. The couple has three biological children: Maria Imelda “Imee”, Ferdinand Jr. “Bongbong”, and Irene. Their youngest Aimee is adopted.
From Congressman, it was a steady upward progression to serving as Senator after a couple of terms for Ferdinand. It was not purely politics. All the bills and laws he was able to pass did the nation a whole lot of good. Given that, there was only one way to go – Presidency. He won and continued his good work for the wellbeing of the country. He built bridges, both literally and figuratively, with infrastructure and diplomacy towards our neighboring countries. This came easy for Ferdinand, with all the skills he mastered in school and in life. He is the only president who did have a speechwriter. All of his speeches are impromptu. Imelda did her share as the First Lady with welfare and cultural programs. One of her projects is the Film Center that can host international events and movie screenings.
Things were not going as well in his second term. The country was experiencing the effects of the worldwide economic crisis (despite trade surpluses) brought by the Cold War and the people were beginning to blame the president. Leftists reemerged with more power than ever and member ranging from blue-collar workers to students. Protests were executed with violence everywhere and the government responded with equivalent violence. When push came to shove, Ferdinand declared Martial Law on September 21, 1972. All forms of freedom and rights were suspended. Curfew was imposed, anyone seen loitering the streets beyond the hour were detained. Anyone can get arrested, probable cause is the law. Anyone suspected of participation in underground anti government activities were arrested and tortured in the attempt to bring down the movement. Ferdinand sent oppositionists on exile.
This only enraged the people even more. On February 22, 1986, three years after the assassination of one of Ferdinand’s popular critics, Ninoy Aquino, millions of Filipinos gathered to oust the country’s dictator of twenty years. Ferdinand and his family escaped the wrath of the united masses, placing Ninoy’s widow, Corazon as the President of the Philippines.
Years later, most of their assets were seized and sold. Some are still of debatable status. Some of Imelda’s jewelry and shoes were auctioned off. Many blame the current economic status of the country to the debt incurred during Ferdinand’s presidency, which was allegedly used to finance their extravagant lifestyle. His successors claim it is a problem that may not be resolved in the near future.