FUTURE NOYNOY VS BONGBONG?
Back in the early 90s, when Rep. Ferdinand 'Bongbong' Marcos Jr. of Ilocos Norte went to Malacanang to take his oath as a member of the Northern Alliance, Rep. Rodolfo 'Rudy' Albano told everybody there that Bongbong will return to Malacanang someday as President.
This prediction aroused concern among the Cojuangcos and the Aquinos, with some wanting to groom Benigno 'Noynoy' Aquino as Ninoy and Cory's political heir. They wanted Noynoy to run for Congress in Tarlac in 1995 - and thwart any attempt by the Marcoses to return to Malacanang.
According to the scenario some political observers envision, the Aquino-Marcos political feud will endure into the next century, with Noynoy and Bongbong running against each other for the presidency.
This may be true, or not, with Bongbong "missing" still. However, it's still premature to count Bongbong out for good. After all, he is only 51 and the so-called 'Solid North' is still behind him 100 percent, not to mention the Eastern Visayas block of Imelda Marcos.
But yes, his silence is deafening, especially after Noynoy had recently mentioned at Club Filipino that if ever he wins the presidency, his administration will look into the ill-gotten wealth issues hurled against the Marcoses. That to me is like testing the waters for future warfare. Bongbong can always retaliate by demanding an accounting of the wealth the Aquino government "sequestered" via the Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG), which I think is a misnomer - the PCGG being known for having officials taking advantage of their positions to enrich themselves as well. A case of "ill-gotten wealth from ill-gotten wealth?"
Including the gold hoard.
Hence, stories from many quarters seem to bolster reports from officials of the PCGG that the Marcoses really possessed gold bullions amounting to some US$ 25 billion, the bulk of which came from the Yamashita treasure.
The late Ambassador Emmanuel Pelaez was reported as having attested to the existence of the gold. He was believed to be privy to efforts by certain relatives of President Aquino to have President Marcos agree to share the gold hoard in exchange for his freedom from prosecution. The relatives allegedly demanded that Marcos turn over 80 percent of the gold to them, and not to the Philippine government.
Let the negative comments on this post begin.
Back in the early 90s, when Rep. Ferdinand 'Bongbong' Marcos Jr. of Ilocos Norte went to Malacanang to take his oath as a member of the Northern Alliance, Rep. Rodolfo 'Rudy' Albano told everybody there that Bongbong will return to Malacanang someday as President.
This prediction aroused concern among the Cojuangcos and the Aquinos, with some wanting to groom Benigno 'Noynoy' Aquino as Ninoy and Cory's political heir. They wanted Noynoy to run for Congress in Tarlac in 1995 - and thwart any attempt by the Marcoses to return to Malacanang.
According to the scenario some political observers envision, the Aquino-Marcos political feud will endure into the next century, with Noynoy and Bongbong running against each other for the presidency.
This may be true, or not, with Bongbong "missing" still. However, it's still premature to count Bongbong out for good. After all, he is only 51 and the so-called 'Solid North' is still behind him 100 percent, not to mention the Eastern Visayas block of Imelda Marcos.
But yes, his silence is deafening, especially after Noynoy had recently mentioned at Club Filipino that if ever he wins the presidency, his administration will look into the ill-gotten wealth issues hurled against the Marcoses. That to me is like testing the waters for future warfare. Bongbong can always retaliate by demanding an accounting of the wealth the Aquino government "sequestered" via the Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG), which I think is a misnomer - the PCGG being known for having officials taking advantage of their positions to enrich themselves as well. A case of "ill-gotten wealth from ill-gotten wealth?"
Including the gold hoard.
Hence, stories from many quarters seem to bolster reports from officials of the PCGG that the Marcoses really possessed gold bullions amounting to some US$ 25 billion, the bulk of which came from the Yamashita treasure.
The late Ambassador Emmanuel Pelaez was reported as having attested to the existence of the gold. He was believed to be privy to efforts by certain relatives of President Aquino to have President Marcos agree to share the gold hoard in exchange for his freedom from prosecution. The relatives allegedly demanded that Marcos turn over 80 percent of the gold to them, and not to the Philippine government.
Let the negative comments on this post begin.
(Image from http://wikimedia.org/)
1 comment:
Yes, there are witnesses among the Marcos staff in Makiki Heights Hawaii of several of Cory Aquino relatives "visiting" former President Marcos in the late 80's. One can name the string of kamaganaks and lawyer kamaganaks, a nephew from La Salle who is Leslie's batch - there to "negotiate" the release of part of the gold to them.
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