Consumer awareness with Ferdinand and Imelda

Scan page 13

"I'M TELLING YOU THAT'S MARCOS... I'M ALMOST SURE OF He tortured critics, murdered enemies, and stole an election. He lied about his war record, collected Manhattan skyscrapers, and had his likeness carved on the face of a mountain.

Yes, it's none other than Ferdinand Marcos-friend of every American president for every hour he was in office—until that final one when word came from the Great Communicator that it was time to take the money and run. And that's what he did, fleeing the scene of the crime, courtesy of the U.S. Air Force.

Drunk with power, Ferdinand and his wife Imelda looted a nation in an all-night binge that appeared to have no end. But end it did, thanks to millions of Filipinos who made it clear that the party was over.

Don't worry about the deposed despot suffering any symptoms of post-tyrant depression. He brought along a little bit of home to take care of that problem. Specifically, 22 crates of freshly printed pesos, jewels, furs, French impressionist paintings, Chinese antiques, and other treasures crammed into not one but two Air Force planes. And should the cash on hand run out, well...The sun never sets on the Marcos millions.

All told, the devouring duo managed in their day to pick the pockets of an entire nation, not to mention Uncle Sam, amass -ing an incredible $10 billion fortune. Not bad for a man who earned $4700 a year as president of the Philippines.

Still, Marcos couldn't even manage to pay for his own flight into exile and lodging in Hawaii. U.S. taxpayers got stuck with that bill, to the tune of $450,000.

Conspicuous consumers that they are, the Marcos entourage was running up a $12,000 "charge" at the Air Force base on Guam only hours into their: light from the wrath of millions. And even more has been charged in Hawaii, leaving the Air Force STAYSKA TAIBUNC IT!"

wondering if and when the bill will be paid.

You would think updating their wardrobes would be the last thing on their minds at a time like that, but then again, these are people conditioned by years of serious shopping.

Of course, to give Ferdinand and Imelda the benefit of the doubt, perhaps they only had room for the shirts on their backs, since their suitcases were all crammed with cash and jewels. And it must have been isolate them from involvement struggles.

CPP and NPA leaders have mentioned the possibility of a reconciliation with the government-provided that Aquino "re -form" the military and dismantle the "fascist structure." Aquino and other moderates are thus portrayed as "good" capitalists as opposed to the "bad" army officers and cronies of Marcos.

This simplistic analysis is embodied in the CPP's basic program of struggle-a carry-over of the program of Stalinism. The CPP calls for a "people's democratic revolution as the transitional stage toward socialism." According to CPP founder Jose Maria Sison, the revolutionary struggle would bring about a "mixed-economy" so that "the local forces of capitalism can be liberated" (Intercontinental Press, Nov. 12, 1984).

But the CPP's stress on a limited "democratic revolution" presents its cadre with a potential dilemma. As one CCP Central Committee member pointed out to the San Francisco Examiner, if Aquino is able to implement some reforms, "people may begin to believe the things we have been fighting for have already been achieved."

"Critical collaboration"

Some forces on the left—including former participants in the boycott of the Aquino-Marcos election-have taken this logic further. They now advocate "critical collaboration" with Aquino in order to "push her to the left."

Leandro Alejandro, secretary-general of the nationalist coalition Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (BAYAN), thus states that "There's a great potential for the Aquino government to evolve into a more repre -sentative government. She's no nationalist, but she's a sincere liberal and will stand up for what she's said already" (San Francisco Examiner, March 3, 1986).

No matter how "sincere" Aquino may appear in her pronouncements, she presides over a capitalist government that will block any opportunities for a change in the social order.

The Aquino government cannot "evolve" toward guaranteeing real democracy and lasting improvement in the lives of the masses of workers and peasants. Significant social change can only come about through action independent of the capitalist forces.

SOCIALIST AI easy to forget a few things with so much to do in those final frenzied hours. Favors to be taken care of, bribes to be paid, promotions to be made, state of emergency decrees to be considered, all littered his desk as he planned his great escape.

Ferdinand and Imelda may have lived in high style, but they were low lifes at heart. The images flash by: Imelda slinking through art museums in the dark of night, stealing paintings for her private collection; Ferdinand watching on closed-circuit tele -vision his own personally directed soap opera called the "Benigno Aquino Murder Trial;" the whole Marcos den of thieves singing "We are the world" in the midst of their country's impoverishment.

Imelda has been called the Iron Butterfly, but Ferdinand hardly proved to be the Man of Steel. He built his regime on tyranny, greed, and kowtowing respect for his great benefactor in Washington. It was a house built on a rotten foundation, and it could not withstand the battering storm of protest from the Filipino people that grew steady and strong over the last two years.

The big-business media and politicians have been quick to take a "with friends like this, who needs enemies" approach toward Marcos now that he has become one more washed-up pro-American dictator.

But Marcos was hardly an avaricious aberration on the stage of U.S. foreign policy. If he was, he was an aberration worth $2.5 billion in U.S. aid since 1962. No. Marcos was a bona fide, 100 percent U.S.-approved ally, right up there with the cream of the dictator crop.

Where will he go now? To Panama to occupy the ex-shah's estate in exile? To Chicago to run for alderman? To Holly -wood and a guest shot on "Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous?" His estate alone should keep that show on the air for many years to come.

The Filipino masses didn't mobilize by the millions àgainst Marcos just to have the same policies carried out with a "human face." Aquino's call for an appointed "constitutional commission" is hardly democratic. Free and universal elections to a Constituent Assembly are needed to permit the majority to determine their own destiny.

In the countryside, a thorough agrarian revolution is necessary to satisfy the deep aspiration of rural workers for the land. Finally, no genuine improvement in the standard of living of the masses can come about if the $26-billion debt is repaid to the imperialist banks. The debt must be canceled, and the U.S. bases-symbols of imperialist domination—removed Important sectors of the Filipino mass movement boycotted the last elec -tions-refusing to support Aquino-be -cause she failed to respond to the basic demands of the people for land and national independence.

The boycott movement, however, failed to take advantage of the electoral opening to offer a clear political alternative to Aquino. As a result, the movement was caught off guard by the mass upsurge that swept away the old dictatorship.

An important debate will inevitably open up in the Filipino revolutionary movement over the course to follow in the months ahead. Those boycott forces loyal to a consistent anti-imperialist program must champion the struggles of the workers and farmers and demand that the Aquino government provide solutions to their demands.

Such a course will soon expose Aquino's commitment to the ruling rich and, in turn, encourage the workers and farmers to organize themselves into genuine forms of 'people's power."

TION APRIL 1986 13