The Trials of Imelda Marcos

In 1993, Imelda Marcos, Former First Lady of the Philippines and widow of the controversial Ferdinand Marcos, was convicted of corruption on two charges by the Sandiganbayan (the anti-corruption court in the Philippines) and was sentenced to 18 years in prison and was barred from running for public office ever again. In total, more than 90 criminal and civil cases were brought against the Marcoses, with allegations that they stole more than $5 billion from the economy for themselves and even more for their associates.

Imelda being convicted

The Supreme Court would later overturn Marcos' prison sentence, ruling against the Sandiganbayan and accusing the Judge of having bias against Marcos. As of 2008, Mrs. Marcos still had 10 pending criminal cases. Over the years she has been able to use her political power to delay and overturn the cases brought against her and her husband. She has been able to avoid prison sentences, though the courts have seized some of her bank accounts.

Clip from the documentary, IMELDA, featuring a portion of her trials

How has this impacted Filipinos at home and abroad? The name Marcos is now equivalent to corruption in the Philippines as Nixon is in the United States, however on a much greater scale. Whereas Nixon only had one scandal tied to his name (Watergate), the Marcos have an entire era of martial law tied to theirs, during which they padded their pockets and led very lavish lives. However, unlike Nixon, who was pardoned by Ford, the Marcoses were exiled, and Imelda was charged for graft and corruption upon repatriating.

These trials are more symbolic than anything. They are a sign that Filipinos will stand up to corrupt politicians. At this point, I don't think it really matters if Imelda is convicted or not, as a practical matter. Would justice be served if she were to be convicted? Surely. Is it necessary? Probably not. The damage has already been done. Her name is already tarnished, and the history books will bear record of that. It doesn't really make sense to imprison her now; because of her age, any sentence would be equivalent to a life sentence, and is highly unlikely to happen because of that anyway. This is worth noting: although they won't sentence her now, they still won't overturn the remaining cases against her, because if anything, the show of the trials are symbolic of the Philippines' stand against government corruption.

This old lady wouldn't last a day in prison...

However, these trials may only be that: merely symbolic. There is still corruption in the Philippine government. Most notably, the current president, Gloria Arroyo, is accused by many of being corrupt. If Imelda's trials go on but not even a passing glance is pointed towards President Arroyo, then the trials won't mean anything but to pacify any dissenters while the nation's current politicians go on to exploit the country.

President Gloria Arroyo is believed by many to be corrupt

-RZ