‘Since his overwhelming election win last month, Bongbong and his family are on a roll. Ambassadors are lining up for a courtesy call on him.’
THE office of incoming President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. announced that he is thinking of attending the 77th Session of the UN General Assembly in September in New York.
The announcement came after Marcos met with UN Resident Coordinator to the Philippines Gustavo Gonzalez, who said: “This UN General Assembly meeting will be the first time that the President-elect Ferdinand Marcos Jr. will be in front of an important number of heads of state, so this is a great and I think a historic opportunity for the president and for the Philippines to share the new vision, the new challenges but at the same time the new opportunities.”
The announcement came a day after Marcos met with US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy R. Sherman, who told reporters afterwards that Marcos will not face arrest when he goes on an official visit to the United States in answer to the question on whether or not Marcos would be allowed to enter the US despite the contempt order against his family due to their non-compliance with the court order to pay victims of martial law imposed by his father.
“This is not something that needs to be discussed. The fact is that when you’re head of state, you have immunity in all circumstances and are welcome to the United States in your official role,” Sherman said.
Marcos’ office has also announced that he will be attending the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Thailand in November. The 21 APEC members include the United States, China, Canada, Russia and the Asean countries, among others.
Press Secretary-designate Trixie Angeles said “Marcos was personally invited by Thai Chargé d’ Affaires Thawat Sumitmo to the APEC Summit, in his capacity as representative of Thailand which is the current APEC Chair.”
Since his overwhelming election win last month, Bongbong and his family are on a roll. Ambassadors are lining up for a courtesy call on him.
After his virtual talk with US President Joe Biden, Chinese President Xi, Japanese Prime Minister Kishida, and outgoing Prime Minister of Australia Scott John Morrison after the elections, Marcos said, “We’re already being recognized.”
“This new administration is being recognized, mukha namang wala ng problema sa recognition. Maybe the comfortable margin that we enjoyed during the election has a part to play with that,” he added.
In what is considered as one of the modern world’s stunningly successful political comebacks, Marcos, once a despised name, has now become a much-desired guest. It’s as if his 31 million votes, a majority vote-a rarity in Philippine elections, have erased the issues of human rights violations, massive corruption, and tax evasion that characterized the more than 20-year (Ferdinand) Marcos regime.
Sen. Imee Marcos, the incoming President’s elder sister, goes further by painting themselves as the victims.
In an interview right after the proclamation of his brother as the winner in the May 9 presidential elections, Imee said they are very grateful for “the second chance” because “medyo mabigat ang pinagdaanan ng aming pamilya, talagang matapos ‘yong 1986 kung ano-anong kaso ang hinarap namin bukod pa do’n sa pangungutya at pang-aapi, sabihin na natin, eh medyo hirap talaga (Our family went through a lot, after 1986 we were accused with a lot of things, we were mocked and oppressed, let’s say it was really hard.”
As Imee was saying this, families and friends of the victims of the Marcos regime and concerned citizens were frantically digitizing the records of atrocities under the Marcos regime before the incoming administration, with its formidable disinformation machinery, succeeds in imposing social amnesia. The Amnesty International has documented, with the help of local civil society groups, at least 35,000 cases of torture, 70,000 incarcerations, and 3,257 killings during the Marcos regime.
As Bongbong Marcos outlines in the world stage his new vision about the country, what comes to mind is Hans Christian Andersen’s story, “The Emperor’s New Clothes.”
The story is about an emperor who was talked into by two swindlers, who offered to weave for him a beautiful robe that is visible only to intelligent people and invisible to all people who are stupid.
When the garment was supposedly finished, the weavers-swindlers made the motion of putting the robe on the monarch. His courtiers, afraid that they would be exposed as stupid, gushed over the garment. The Emperor also pretended he was seeing the robe he was wearing and thanked the swindlers for making him a beautiful garment. He went out proudly to join a parade. Everybody bowed to the monarch admiring his “beautiful clothes” until he passed by a child who exclaimed, “The Emperor is naked!”
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The views in this column are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of VERA Files.
