The widow of late Philippine dictator Ferdinand Marcos threw a tantrum after her and her husband’s personal items were removed from display at the presidential palace museum, a news report said on Tuesday.
According to the Manila Standard newspaper, Imelda Marcos was peeved when truckloads of Marcos memorabilia were taken out of the Malacanang Museum last week. The Marcos collection, which gives visitors a glimpse of the excesses of the dictator and his family during his 20-year rule, has been the main crowd-drawer of the museum.
Among the items removed from the museum were some of the infamous 3 000 pairs of shoes owned by Imelda Marcos, her gowns and clothes of the former president. ”Our country has so many problems, but they poured the heat on my old clothes,” Congressman Imee Marcos quoted her 73-year-old mother as saying, according to the report.
Imee said her family wanted to know if the transfer of clothes, shoes and other stuff to a government warehouse was part of any sequestration order issued by the Philippine Supreme Court or the Sandiganbayan anti-graft court.
Press Secretary Ignacio Bunye said at least one container van and two truckloads of Marcos memorabilia were removed from the museum to allot more space to display mementos of the other presidents. Bunye said the ”dumped” Marcos memorabilia will be stored in the warehouse of the Presidential Commission on Good Government — the agency in charge with recovering the allegedly ill-gotten wealth of the Marcos family.
Ferdinand Marcos was ousted in a four-day popular revolt in 1986. He died in exile in Hawaii three years later, while his family returned to the Philippines and some now hold government posts. – Sapa-DPA