The Marcos resurrection

After 36 years in the political desert, the Marcos family is back in power. Ferdinand Jr has been elected President of the Philippines and his mother, Imelda (whose name was once synonymous with excess and corruption), has been hailed “the kingmaker”.

- WILLIAM LANGLEY

On a wet afternoon at a packed and steamy sports arena, Ferdinand 'Bongbong' Marcos, the about-to-be president of the Philippines, was building towards the climax of his speech. While no one's idea of a great orator, Bongbong, 64, had a closing set-piece he knew would have the crowd on its feet.

"There's someone special I want to thank," he said. "Someone you all know. Someone our country owes a big debt to." Up on the stadium screens flashed the instantly recognizable face of Imelda Marcos, the candidate's 92-year-old mother, her trademark jet-black hair heaped in a glossy bun, and a jewelled hand raised in greeting.

Bongbong hoisted both arms into the air. "We love you, Imelda," he cried. "Let's all say we love you," and from the crowd arose a deafening chant: "We love you!"

The words "debt" and "Imelda" have been used in close proximity before. When the former First Lady and her husband, Ferdinand Marcos Sr, were driven into exile 36-years-ago, around $US10 billion was found to have been looted from the state coffers, leaving the already impoverished Philippines virtually bankrupt. Little of it has been recovered.

The protesters who stormed the presidential palace on February 25, 1986, found entire rooms stuffed with Imelda's booty, including hundreds of haute-couture gowns, 18 mink coats, caskets of gems, and, most famously, more than 3000 pairs of designer-label shoes.

As the true story of the couple's 20 years in power seeped out, the Marcos name became a global byword for greed, corruption, and wretched excess. They owned apartment buildings in New York, two grand yachts, a luxurious chalet in Switzerland, all bought with money stolen from a country where the average wage was $50 a month.