Imelda Marcos Was Convicted Of “Graft” And Sentenced To Prison
I had thought that Imelda Marcos was living out her golden years as nothing more than the star of a punchline about having too many shoes, but she has apparently been doing the most! She’s currently a member of the House Of Representatives in the Philippines, and was planning to run for Governor of a northern province (a seat her daughter currently holds). But she may have to put that on the back burner for now. According to NBC News, a Philippine court has just convicted her of 7 counts of “graft” (that’s a good old-fashioned government swindle) and sentenced her to 6-12 years in prison PER count for funneling $200,000 to Switzerland while she was Governor of Manila in 1970. Imelda’s 89 and unless she gets an age reduction like homeboy (or an appeal), she’s gonna die in prison.
I know we like to complain about our rotten, corrupt, quazi (for now) fascist government, but our leaders still have some catching up to do if they want to approach the levels of fuckery perpetuated by Ferdinand and Imelda Marcos. President Ferdinand and First Lady Imelda ruled the Philippines as a dictatorship and kleptocracy for two decades before they were both forced into exile in Hawaii. The pair made off up to $1 billion in freshly printed cash, jewelry, gold bricks, art, and yes, thousands of shoes (Melania’s positively green).
Ferdinand Marcos had placed the Philippines under martial rule a year before his term was to expire. He padlocked Congress, ordered the arrest of political rivals and left-wing activists and ruled by decree. His family is said to have amassed an estimated $5 billion to $10 billion while he was in power.
Ferdinand died in exile in 1989, but Imelda eventually returned to the Philippines, and staggeringly, got back into politics. But now her past crimes are coming to roost. (via NBC News):
Government prosecutor Ryan Quilala told reporters that Marcos and her husband opened and managed Swiss foundations in violation of the Philippine Constitution, using aliases in a bid to hide stolen funds. The Marcoses have been accused of plundering the government’s coffers amid crushing poverty. They have denied any wrongdoing and have successfully fought many other corruption cases.
Imelda did not appear in court, nor did her layers, but they say they’ve reviewed the decision and plan to appeal. Imelda was also acquitted on three cases from 1991, but today’s ruling is still seen as a win by “Anti-Marcos activists and human rights victims” (including people whose family members were killed or imprisoned by the regime) who called the conviction “long overdue”. In addition to the 7, 6-11 year sentences, Imelda will be disqualified from holding public office, but she gets to keep her seat on the HOR while her appeal is being processed.
And really the Marcos clan make the Trump family look like fucking amateurs. And also really, Imelda’s probably trying to secure a cell complete with a massive shoe closet. Somebody needs to think of her shoes!
Pic: AP