Happy birthday, First Lady Imelda

Happy birthday, dear First Lady Imelda Marcos. Your 97th birth anniversary is tomorrow and I would like to dedicate this piece to you, given the tremendous impact you’ve had on me and all those from my generation.

You may remember me as the son of Pat and Verge, your loyal blue lady and gentleman in service. I was that three-year-old boy in 1971 when you visited my father at Makati Medical Center following his massive heart attack. You offered to fly him to Houston General Hospital for a heart bypass, the only medical facility capable of carrying out such a procedure. Although my father did not survive the month, your generous offer and presence in the wake were deeply appreciated and well remembered.

No one can deny that you have been the most consequential first lady the country has ever had. I say “consequential” in both its positive and negative contexts. While records show that you and your husband were among the world’s greatest plunderers whose loot rivaled that of Mobutu Sese Seko and Nicolae Ceausescu, you also remain the only Filipino power couple that truly understood the importance of soft power and country branding.

Beneath the well documented asset grabs and having your wily way on the national treasury, you had great aspirations for the nation – greater than any other Philippine leader had. You aspired for Manila to be a world city – a city that every Filipino could be proud of. Towards that aspiration, you built transport infrastructure, a world-class medical corridor, tourism facilities and mass housing. You cleaned the city with your army of Metro Manila Aides and embarked on a program to plant 64 million trees in Metro Manila.

Sure, you and your cronies reportedly profited handsomely from kickbacks tied to these projects. Still, the infrastructure was built and the nation continues to benefit from them decades later. No other Filipino leader possessed such an ambitious vision for our capital city and country, nor invested as much energy in pursuing it. At the same time, no other Filipino leader allegedly presided over corruption on the scale attributed to you, your husband and your inner circle – at least not until your son’s administration and the flood control scandal.

Under your watch, the Philippines was held in the highest esteem worldwide. Your many prestige projects put the Philippines in the center of global conversation. You were headstrong to host the IMF-World Bank meeting, the UNCTAD 5 Summit, the Manila Film Festival, Thrilla in Manila and even the Miss Universe pageant. Hosting these events boosted the country’s country brand and geopolitical gravitas. Back then, the Philippines’ actions had global consequence.

I only regret that such gravitas did not translate to meaningful investments towards industrialization nor settle our claim for Sabah. What it did was feed your vanity. Still, it was good to be the envy of Asia at one time in our history.

You understood the power of culture and worked to develop our own to world class standards. You rightfully championed arts and sports development. Even before South Korea began exporting their music and films, you planted the seeds with the Experimental Cinema of the Philippines and the National Music Competitions for Young Artist.

Everyone from the ’70s still remembers how the Madrigal Singers, the Bayanihan Dancers, Cecil Licad and Pitoy Moreno toured the world as cultural ambassadors and brought the spotlight to the Philippines. In sports, we remember how Eugene Torre dominated chess, how Lydia de Vega conquered track and field and how Paeng Nepomoceno became the world champion in bowling.

Abroad, you socialized with world leaders and royalty with no one able to upstage you for your elegance and grace. Your jewelry, fine clothes and entourage evoked awe. It was vulgar amid the poverty back home. But in a perverse way, we were proud of your representation while also angry about it. The mixed feelings were a reflection of the contradictions that defined your legacy.

Under your leadership, the country had more soft power than any of its peers in Asia. You made the Philippines a star.

You loved the country and served her in the best way you knew how. For that, you have my gratitude and respect. Your only folly, in my humble opinion, was that your vanity and greed superseded your love of the Filipino people. But alas, the deeds are done and although the consequences of all that plunder caused financial havoc that took three decades to stabilize, we still benefit from the residual soft power and country brand you built. It is bitter sweet.

When your son became president, I wished he possessed the same ambition for the country as you had. But no, he is not like you. He does not lead with vision, ambition or inspiration, at least none that’s apparent. Outside the correct handling of the West Philippine Sea issue, his leadership has been tragically inconsequential, characterized by economic lethargy and missed opportunities. His presidency has been increasingly disappointing to the point of demoralization. The economy’s loss of momentum, more than global events justify, tells the whole story.

Unlike you, he has not initiated any game changing infrastructure project nor is he doing anything significant to strengthen soft power. Culture and sports were de-prioritized. Manila, the capital city you hoped to be a global powerhouse, is left to blight and decay. Things would be different if only we could restore the Metro Manila Commission with you as governor.

So let me greet you again a very happy birthday. Know that while I do not miss your vulgar greed and entitlement, I do miss your passion for greatness. I miss your competitive edge. I miss your lofty ambitions for the country. You were truly consequential.

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E-mail: [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @aj_masigan