Ladies first

Today is the 17th anniversary of the last day of the People Power Revolution of 1986 (EDSA I).

It brought an end to the Marcos dictatorship, and some say, the conjugal Marcos dictatorship. Imelda Marcos made as much a name for herself as her husband did in the 20 years they were in power, so much so that even in pop culture, she has become legend. (Have you seen the latest Hugh Grant—Sandra Bullock hit, Two Weeks’ Notice? She is mentioned there.)

EDSA I ushered in the restoration of democratic institutions in the Philippines. It also set up parameters about the behavior and lifestyle of first ladies.

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I first saw Imelda Marcos when I was in primary school. Her motorcade had passed my school, and she waved to the students from the window of her limo. She had rolled down the window, made eye contact and smiled sweetly. I was struck by her beauty and the way she connected with the crowd – she made an effort to stick her neck out of the window as she waved.

I next met her at Malacañang, almost 15 years later. I had just finished Journalism at UP and I was covering the Manila International Film Festival (MIFF), of which she was the patroness. She had invited the press to a merienda at the Palace. Via Mare had set up a sumptuous Filipino buffet at the State Dining Room, and I remember Imelda leading our group to the buffet table, just stopping short of putting the ensaymada herself on our plates. Imelda and I never wore the same political colors, but I have to give it to her for her graciousness.

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Ming Ramos I will never forget. I had known her even before she became first lady, when she was director for admissions at the International School. When she became first lady, my late editor Betty Go-Belmonte asked me to interview her and to my pleasant surprise, Ming was still the same unassuming lady. She had remained true to herself, what she was, what she stood for, what she was comfortable in and with – even when she was at the peak of Philippine politics’ Mt. Olympus.

I interviewed her at the President’s official residence on Arlegui Street and I discovered that she continued to do her own laundry (for everyday clothes) herself. She had a washing machine installed in her private bathroom so she could continue doing her laundry in peace.

"You know, I lived abroad as a student and learned to be self-sufficient," she explained. "And then when I got married, I had five daughters. Doing my own laundry was the only way to keep track of my own clothes!"

Because her husband Fidel, a military officer, was away most of the time during the early years of their marriage, she knew how to fix leaking faucets, change light bulbs and drive a six-by-six truck.

As first lady, Ming was also unperturbed by rumors and secure in her place. When asked who she thought was her husband’s most influential adviser, she answered without batting an eyelash, "I am."

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What struck me most about Luisa "Loi" Ejercito was her devotion to her husband Joseph Estrada. She knew very well of her husband’s infidelity, but she said she was taught that, "Kung nasaan ka, doon ka."

"I am happy, I have made my choices," she told me. She met Joseph Ejercito in 1955 when he was on a summer job at the National Mental Hospital.

"Doktora na ako noon – and he wasn’t afraid to court me. I knew he would go far in life because he was very persistent," she recalled.

She also struck me as someone who would sacrifice her own happiness for the sake of her family. When her children were in grade school, she "fled" to the US to escape the heartaches brought about by her husband’s infidelity. But her "fatherless" son, Jinggoy, started calling everyone "Daddy," including the parish priest. To help her children have a normal life again and to enable them to see their father more often, Loi returned to Manila. According to Jinggoy, that was the reason, not the political campaign, why his mom gave up a quiet life in Philadelphia for a public life in Manila.

I interviewed Loi in June 2000, well before the impeachment trial, and she told me, "After my husband’s term is over, I will take a vacation, and I will try to forget all the criticisms that have hurt my family."

After Estrada’s presidency was cut short, Loi didn’t take a vacation. She ran for senator and won on the crest of votes from people who still believed in her husband. Her victory was also her husband’s, and for the loyal Loi, that was enough to keep the long vacation just a dream… for now.

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Spanish journalist and writer Jose "Pepe" Rodriguez explores the life and times of all the country’s former first ladies in Philippine First Ladies – Portraits.

Published by the Tantoco-Rustia Foundation as its very first literary venture, the book is a labor of love between Pepe and his own first lady, his wife Lulu Coching Rodriguez. Lulu was commissioned in 2000 by the Cabinet Ladies Foundation to do the portraits of all past first ladies. Their portraits now hang in Malacañang Palace.

Philippine First Ladies – Portraits will be launched at a cocktail reception in the Rizal Ballroom of the Shangri-La Makati on Friday, Feb. 28 at 6 p.m. Lulu’s portraits of the first ladies will also be unveiled that evening.