Marcos Turns Sentimental After Setting Foot In New York

NEW JERSEY – President Marcos was in throwback mode during his first official engagement in his six-day working visit to the US, recalling the start of his romance with First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos and making some references to the presidency of his late father.

Speaking before supporters at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center on Sunday, Sept. 18, Marcos said he first met the first lady while he was still a student.

“I was studying at the University of Pennsylvania, in Wharton. In 1986, Liza was already a lawyer. We met each other in court while I was waiting for the resolution of the case of my mother. She (Liza) was there for a visit because she’s a friend of one of our lawyers,” the President said in Filipino.

“She courted me for maybe three years,” he said in jest.

Marcos did not elaborate on the case of his mother, former first lady Imelda Marcos. But in 1986, his father and namesake Ferdinand Marcos was ousted from power through the people power revolt, forcing him and his family into exile in Hawaii.

Marcos said New York is special to him and his wife although it has been 25 years since they visited the place together.

He joked that his son, Ilocos Norte Rep. Sandro Marcos, would not have been born without New York.

“Kaya Sandro magpasalamat ka sa New York. Kung hindi sa New York, wala ka (So Sandro, thank New York. If not for New York, you would not have existed),” he said.

In 2011, the District Court of Hawaii issued a contempt order worth $353 million against the Marcoses in relation to a human rights class suit. The court decision barred the Marcoses from entering the US. However, the US State Department said Marcos may set foot in the US since he has diplomatic immunity as a head of state.

In the same event, Marcos noticed some supporters displaying shirts printed with the logo of the Kabataang Barangay, which was formed in 1975 through Presidential Decree No. 684 issued by his father. The youth organization comprised residents no older than 18 years.

“It’s been a while since I saw a T-shirt like that. Do you know what it stands for? It’s the Kabataang Barangay. It was led by (Sen.) Imee (Marcos) before, my elder sister,” Marcos said.

“But she said, go slow in displaying that shirt because according to Imee, the KB now stands for something different. It’s no longer Kabataang Barangay. It’s already katandaang barangay (elderly barangay citizens),” he added, drawing laughter from his audience.

“We will be working hard to get other things done for the country besides addressing the UN General Assembly on Tuesday, the same way my father, president Ferdinand Marcos, and my mother, Imelda Romualdez-Marcos, did on several occasions during his incumbency,” he said.

Protest

However, not everyone was happy with Marcos’ visit here.

A group of activists held a rally outside the New Jersey Performing Arts Center to protest the arrival of Marcos and to condemn the supposed fascism and human rights violations in the Philippines, especially during the martial law years.

“Ironically, the martial law anniversary coincides with Marcos Jr.’s visit to the US to speak at the United Nations General Assembly,” activist group Malaya Movement said in a statement.

“Now more than ever we must combat the historical revisionism and disinformation by the Marcoses. As we say ‘never forget’ and remember one of the darkest periods in Philippine his-tory, we must continue the fight for genuine democracy, human rights and sovereignty in the Philippines and reject the Marcos-Duterte regime,” it added.

But Marcos said Filipinos should now look to the future. “As we continue to search for more solutions to revitalize our beloved country, it is not the time to look back at the past. It is now time to look to the future. And the future looks bright,” the President noted.