July 2

Posted in email July 3, 2004


Yesterday, like any other weekday, I heard the morning mass.

To my surprise, a lot of people were in the church, though it was a typical first Friday, the the church does not fill up with people.

They were wearing red. I saw the print of Mrs. Imelda Romualdez Marcos on their shirts. So I asked my mother what's up. She replied, It is Imelda's birthday.

These people came from the different parts of the country. Most of them were experienced. Yet they tolerated the crowd, the heat, the lack of sleep, the fatigue and hunger. Though their mass is at 9am, not the regular morning mass at 7:30.

During all these years, I never knew when her birthday was. Only her husband's (September 11).

Imelda was the lover of anything beautiful, be it culture, arts, structures, events, anything! The Philippines owe her a lot. You read it right, we owe her a lot, not that their family is the one who should pay.

Yet, she never asked for anything, not even appreciation. She is aware of her critics. I am longing to see the film about her life, but she herself criticzed it, saying it was exaggerated.

Remember the time when she was not invited to the nuptial of Charles and Diana? She threw a big bash to prove how wrong they were. She deserved to be there. Because of that, life was more grand that night.

Look how strong the buildings wherein she herself supervised the construction. CCP, PICC, the UPLB library, and a lot more. So what if the Film Center collapsed? That was not her fault. It was the engineers' and the architects'. She was not even present when that happened.

I only know a little about the greatest and best First Lady the Philippines ever ahd, and there will never be another one.

Next year, July 2 will fall on a Saturday, And i will be wearing red.

imeldific adjective. Ostentatiously extravagant to the point of vulgarity (from Imelda Marcos, shoe collector extraordinaire).

false

She is so refined, and anything grand.