Corruption, economic crisis under Marcos rule

Corruption, economic crisis under Marcos rule

On Feb. 22-25, the nation again commemorates those four days – 36 years ago – when Filipinos rose up in determined yet peaceful protest, converged on Edsa and with their own bodies stopped the military tanks and troops dispatched to disperse them. That popular uprising, replicated in other parts of the country, ended the 14-year Marcos dictatorship.

A disturbing specter, however, is lurking in the atmosphere: “No to the return of the Marcoses to Malacañang and Duterte’s extended stay in power!” is the outcry of a significant segment of the citizenry. The specter could materialize should the Marcos-Duterte tandem, touted as leading by a wide margin in pre-official campaign surveys, win the presidency and vice presidency in the May 9 elections.

I’ll just cite and quote four critical pieces written by fellow columnists.

• In a column piece in PhilSTAR’s Lifestyle section last Jan. 30, the writer Barbara Gonzalez-Ventura harked back to 1972 (the year Marcos declared martial law). Just turning 28, “still young and stupid” with young kids needing her care, she moved “into a beautiful home in an expensive subdivision” with a former banker, then one of Marcos’ finance undersecretaries.

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