| Imee R. Marcos | |
|---|---|
| Governor of Ilocos Norte | |
| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office June 30, 2010 |
|
| Preceded by | Michael M. Keon |
| Member of the Philippine House of Representatives from Ilocos Norte's Second District | |
| In office June 30, 1998 – June 30, 2007 |
|
| Preceded by | Simeon M. Valdez |
| Succeeded by | Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. |
| Mambabatas Pambansa (Assemblyman) from Ilocos Norte | |
| In office June 30, 1984 – March 25, 1986 Served with: Antonio V. Raquiza |
|
| Personal details | |
| Born | November 12, 1955 Mandaluyong City, Philippines |
| Nationality | Filipino |
| Political party | Nacionalista (2009–present) KBL (1980–2009) |
| Spouse(s) | Tommy Manotoc (separated) |
| Residence | Batac, Ilocos Norte |
| Alma mater | Princeton University Education: - Princeton University (B.A.) - University of the Philippines College of Law in Diliman, Quezon City (Bachelor of Laws) - Asian Institute of Management in Makati City (M.A. in Management and Business Administration) |
| Profession | Politician |
| Religion | Roman Catholicism |
Maria Imelda Josefa Romualdez Marcos (born November 12, 1955), most widely known as Imee Marcos, is a Filipino politician who has been Governor of Ilocos Norte since 2010. She served three terms as Representative of the 2nd District of Ilocos Norte in the Philippine House of Representatives from 1998 to 2007. She formerly belonged to the Kilusang Bagong Lipunan or KBL political party, the same party that supported her father, President Ferdinand Marcos.[1] Subsequently she joined the alliance of the Nacionalista Party of Manny Villar in support of her mother and her brother. She is the sister of Ilocos Norte Senator Ferdinand Marcos, Jr., who replaced her as the Representative for the 2nd District of Ilocos Norte.
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Marcos is the eldest daughter of Ferdinand Edralin Marcos, former president of the Philippines (1965–1986), and former First Lady Imelda Romualdez-Marcos, both parents ruling the Philippines together for twenty years. She was born on November 12, 1955 in Mandaluyong, Metro Manila.[1] Her other siblings are Ferdinand "Bong-Bong" Marcos, Jr., currently a Senator of the Republic of the Philippines, Irene Marcos-Araneta[2] (a socialite), and an adopted daughter Aimee Marcos (entrepreneur and musician).[3]
Marcos, who turned 10 the day after her father was elected president in 1965, grew up as a young child at Malacañang Palace, the official residence of the president of Republic of the Philippines. In an interview with Filipinas Magazine in 1999, she admitted that she was not comfortable living at the Palace because it was too confining, very formal and fixed. She also added that it is not necessarily the most appropriate place to bring up a kid but it was quite nice.[4]
While living at the Palace, Marcos attended regular schools in Manila, then was tutored at the Palace because they found it difficult to go out because of protest rallies outside Malacañang.[5] This she found the most boring thing that happened, to learn without classmates.[5]
Marcos went to the Institucion Teresiana (Poveda Learning Center) from Kindergarten to Grade IV where she earned First Honors. She attended Assumption Convent at Herran St. in Manila for Grade V to First Year High School where she also earned First Honors. Then, she went to the American School in Makati.[1]
Imee, her brother Ferdinand Jr. (Bongbong) and sister, Irene had been studying in England before Marcos signed Proclamation No. 1081 on September 21, 1972. They stayed there for a few years until they finished their studies. But they came home for Christmas and summer holidays.[5] Imee was just about to turn 17 years old at that time. Bongbong was sent ahead of Imee and Irene to England to continue their studies.
In England, they had to live by themselves. "We were much concerned about adopting to a new and very cold environment. I was clueless. I wasn't aware of what was going on because we were struggling to cope in England without our parents, so it wasn't very real to us that things actually changed in the Philippines in an important way," she candidly recalls.[5]
In London, she attended the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts Acting and Playwriting, (with Distinction). She took up Acting at the Royal Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts in London, UK (with Distinction). She also went to the Convent of the Holy Child Jesus, Mayfield, Sussex, England British Kingdom (GCSE Examinations –(7) UK Firsts,(3) Seconds).[1] Marcos completed her secondary education at Santa Catalina School in Monterey, California where she graduated valedictorian of her class.
She earned her B.A. in Religion and Politics from Princeton University in New Jersey, USA, with distinctions.
Imee became the most visible among the three Marcos children when she returned to the Philippines. She was chairperson of the Kabataang Barangay or youth organization. Back in Manila, Marcos earned her Bachelor of Laws from the University of the Philippines College of Law in Diliman, Quezon City were she study as a scholar all through out her school days, she also graduated as cum laude. Then, she earned her M.A. in Management and Business Administration from the Asian Institute of Management in Makati City.[6] She did graduate studies in anthropology, sociology, literature, arts, history and theater at Princeton University in New Jersey and the University of the Philippines in Diliman. Marcos also studied French and Dialectical Arabic at the Royal University of Rabat in Morocco, as such she speaks ostensibly with French, Spanish, Latin, Arabic, Portuguese, aside from her knowledge about Ilocano, Waray, English, Tagalog and basic Mandarin and Japanese. She also studied Writing: screenplay; children's literature; painting and art; and interior design at the National University of Singapore College of Extramural Studies.[1]
Hon. Marcos was counsel at the Center for Legal Aid at the U.P. College of Law. She was also a consultant for corporate taxation of the Independent Realty Corp., Anchor Corp., Prime Holdings, MidPasig Realty Corp. She was columnist of The Manila Bulletin in Manila, publisher of the Filpino Film Review, publisher and editor of the Kabataang Barangay Foundation, Makati, Metro Manila, and Special consultant to the chairman of the board of ABS-CBN, RPN 9 and IBC 13. From 1979-1986, she was consultant to the minister of the National Media Production Center in Quezon City. Then, from 1981 to 1986, she was director general of the Experimental Cinema of the Philippines.[6]
Prior to politics, Imee was producer for eleven years (1975–1986) of two famous Filipino children shows namely: Kulit Bulilit and Kaluskos Musmos - where Batibot originated. For five years (1981–1986), Imee was director-general of experimental cinema of the Philippines and produced: Oro, Plata, Mata; Himala; Misteryo sa Tuwa and Soltero. She co-produced with Marilou Diaz-Abaya the movie Brutal with Peque Gallaga, Scorpio Nights; and with Tikoy Aguiluz in The Boatman.
Imee also produced and wrote animation featuring Nonoy Marcelo's "Da Real Makoy and Lam-Ang", among others.[7]
Imee also held the following positions:
Marcos has dabbled in drama, appearing in the Cultural Center of the Philippines' production of The Diary of Anne Frank.
In 2007, along with some industry luminaries, Imee Marcos established the Creative Media and Film Society of the Philippines (CREAM). A year after CREAM evolved into CREAM Content Distribution, Inc., a production company that specializes in animation, game and film production. She is currently the president of CREAM.
Former Congresswoman Marcos was once married to businessman Tommy Manotoc, an avid golfer and former Professional Basketball Coach. They have three sons: Fernando Martin ("Borgy"), a commercial model and a DJ; Michael, a student at New York University; and Matthew Joseph, a student at Claremont McKenna College.[7] Marcos and Manotoc are now separated.
Imee Marcos is the most vocal defender of martial law and her father, the late Ferdinand Marcos. In her most recent pronouncements, she said: "The best roads and bridges were built during martial law. Even the movies then were very good."
In his book "Martial Law Diary: Part 1", Ex-Navy Captain Danilo Vizmanos, wrote a scathing remark on the controversial martial law era under Marcos. Citing the heroism of Liliosa Hilao, who was raped, tortured and murdered by the military under Marcos, he wrote: "For the single crime that Marcos and his gangsters have committed on the brave but defenseless Liliosa, a million kilometers of paved roads and all the gimmicks they have come up with cannot erase from the (memory of) Filipino people such an abominable crime that will forever serve as the dark legacy of the New Society."[8]
1n 2005, Imee Marcos took offense at the Arroyo government's subtle reference to the country spending one-third of its annual budget to service debts largely incurred during Ms. Marcos' late dictator-father regime. She claimed that in no way could the accumulated debt be the fault of her dead father.[9] Commentator Jojo Robles of the Manila Standard Today cited the Bataan Nuclear Power Plant—the nation's single biggest debt and incurred during Marcos administration—which took 10 years to build at a cost of US$2.3billion, and which to this day has not produced a single watt of electricity. Mr. Robles said: "In this time of ever-escalating debt and oil prices, someone should tell Imee Marcos to get a grip on reality before absolving her father and his men...we're still paying the costs of Marcos the Elder's kleptocracy, whether in the form of higher power costs because of an unused power plant or unending payments incurred by a thieving regime."[9]
There were several accusations of atrocities directed to Imee Marcos' security guards during martial law. In a university open forum conducted by Ms. Marcos on August 1977, Archimedes Trajano was forcibly taken by Imee Marcos' personal guards after he posted a question which embarrassed Ms. Marcos. Archimedes Trajano's body was found several days later, tortured and beaten to death.[10] Trajano's family was among those awarded by the U.S. Federal Court in Hawaii, for damages for human rights violation covering torture, disappearances, and murder attributed to the military or the Marcos family during the Marcos dictatorship. The Trajano family meanwhile (as of 25 September 2006) has yet to see a penny of this compensation.[10][11]
Imee Marcos is widely criticized for taking the lead in street protests in defense of human rights abuses which they say is out character for a daughter of a former dictator whose regime was well-known for its brutal violations of human rights.[12]
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