Being in college in 1969 meant being in the midst of history as the most charismatic president in Philippine history cemented his hold on the imaginiation of the Filipino people. Ferdinand E. Marcos was idolized and considered a hero by the generation who survived the Second World War. He was a be-medalled hero of the war against the Japanese Imperialist ambitions and his exploits as a young lieutenant gained for him various medals. There was a dark side to his personal history as he was accused of murdering the hated rival for political power in his province of his father. His subsequent feat of topping the Bar Exams in spite of his pending trial earned for him his acquittal and gave history its first glimpse of the icy nerves that later on brought to the Philippines its first taste of a nebulous article in the Constitution called Martial Law.



Ferdinand Marcos ruled the Philippines simply because he could. He had the intelligence, the audacity, boldness and sharpness of decision-making skills that made mincemeat of the oligarchs that used to rule the Philippine archipelago. His brilliant oratory held his audiences spellbound as he weaved the magic of his vision of a New Society and rendered helpless and impotent his rivals while he built up the military to shore up the hollow presidency that he had created. Shrewdly taking advantage the easily corrupted media and politicians, he created the fiction of invincibility while appearing as a champion of the masses. He was the perfect dictator, beloved and idolized by the masses while secretly going after the wealth and power of the oligarchs.

He ws a sad, old man when he was driven out of his palace, defeated by a gentle, smiling woman who was the widow of his nemesis, Benigno Aquino. He squandered his prestige, power and his chance to be the Father of his Country when he chose instead to be a warlord, a kingpin, a gangster even.

In 1969, he was invincible, and college students all over the country were questioning the amazing power that he had accumulated. They correctly surmised that nothing good was going to come out of such power being concentrated in the hands of a single man. The truth of the matter is that Ferdinand Marcos created the mystique of the military as the only decisive force in Philippine Politics. He led people to believe that this power was beyond opposition. Summary executions, ironically called "salvagings", were the prinipal methods to instill fear and terror in the hearts of would-be oppositionists.

This fiction of Military Supremacy is still held in the deluded minds of the likes of Gringo Honasan who fantasizes of becoming a second Ferdinand Marcos and he is joined by his younger cohorts of the infamous Oakwood Mutiny, who mistakenly believe, in their naivete, that History is on their side. None of these late-blooming, military dictator wannabes have the wide ranging vision of Ferdinant Marcos who played the fears of the American people concerning the Communist threat and capitalized on it to bring him a powerful alliance and prestige in the Internatinal community.

The struggle for freedom still continues as politicians cynically manipulate the Filipino people unmindful of the lessons of history. A genuine leader is needed, not a plastic-fantastic smiling daughter-of-a-past-president whose claim to fame is to be the classmate of Bill Clinton; nor is a movie action hero the character that is needed in these dire times. Shame does not exist in Philippine Politics as having a thick face is the only criteria needed to succeed in this mud-slinging arena.