The Insatiable Greed for Power and Money
Rogelio G. Balo Ph.D.
Introduction
By decisively winning the 2022 presidential election,
Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr (BBM) had undeniably secured the return to political
power of a once most disreputable political dynasty in the Philippines. This
was fulfilled after more than 30 years when the Marcos family fled the country
in intense humiliation and dishonor in the year 1986.
After a 21-year authoritarian rule, distinct with extensive
corruption and human rights cruelties, the infamous regime of the late Ferdinand E. Marcos
Sr. was tumbled by the “People Power” revolution on Feb 1986.
“The 21-year period of
Philippine economic history during Ferdinand Marcos Sr.’ regime – from his
election in 1965 until he was ousted by the People Power Revolution in 1986 was
a period of significant economic lows.”
“When Ferdinand E. Marcos Sr. first became President in 1965,
he had inherited a robust economy from President Diosdado Macapagal, with the
Philippines (by GDP) as the 7th largest
economy in Asia and 30th largest
economy worldwide.”
“The early part of Ferdinand Marcos' first administration
continued the rising growth rate which characterized the previous
administrations of the Third Philippine Republic, peaking at nearly 9 percent
in 1973 and 1976. “During the 1960s up to the declaration of Martial Law, the
Philippine economy was primarily agricultural with 60% of the labor force
working in 1957 and 1964. Following an economic strategy of import substitution industrialization,
the Philippine economy before Marcos was characterized by growing industrial
production in sectors including textiles, clothing, metal works, machinery and
petroleum products.”
“New high-yielding crop varieties and new irrigation and
mechanization techniques brought growth to the Agriculture sector.
International collaboration for new agricultural technologies was pursued, most
notably with the International Rice Research Institute founded in 1960 under
the administration of President Carlos P. Garcia.”
However, Marcos' later years in power saw the worst recession in Philippine history,
with the economy contracting by 7.3% in 1984 and 1985. “The dramatic
rise and fall of the Philippine economy during this period is attributed to the
Marcos administration's heavy dependence on foreign loans (debt-driven as opposed to productivity-driven
growth), its policy of establishing monopolies under Marcos cronies which resulted in significant income inequality, corruption by government officials, and the capital flight which has historically been attributed to the Marcos
family's economic plunder.”
Limitless Greed for Political Power
“After becoming President
in 1965, Marcos Sr. immediately embarked on political maneuvers designed to
undermine the economic power and political influence of the Philippines’
traditional elite and replace them with individuals
loyal to him.”
With strategic appointments and the systematic use of what
would later be called "behest loans"
he elevated the influence of a select group of “cronies”.
“Cronyism meant
giving loans to friends that had little or no collateral, whose corporations
were undercapitalized. Marcos, family and his cronies used the national
coffers, the resources of private banks, and even international loans from
multinational banks for their business. Aid money from the US and Japan were
placed at the disposal of Marcos’ money-making network. Until today we are
still paying for these loans squandered by the Marcos regime.” Wikipedia*
As documented in Ricardo Manapat’s book “Some Are Smarter Than Others”,
the major cronies were: Roberto S. Benedicto
who controlled the sugar industry, Eduardo
Danding Cojuangco Jr. who monopolized the coconut industry, Antonio Floreindo who cornered the
banana industry, Hans Menzi who
lorded over the mining and paper industries and Roberto Cuenca, whose private construction company was expanded
into CDCP and got all big government construction contracts including the North
and South Expressways and the new International
airport. Also in the long list are Manuel
“ Manda” Elizalde, Juan Ponce Enrile
and Herminio Disini, among many others.
With a greedy desire to cling to political power and become
the first Philippine president to be re-elected, Marcos implemented a rapid
modernization program to support his 1969 campaign theme.
“The government’s spending deficit in the first Marcos
administration from 1965 to 1969 was 70% higher than that of the
Macapagal administration from 1961 to 1965. In order to do this, Marcos
relied heavily on foreign loans, and economists would later point to the period
of fiscal policy from 1966 to 1970 as the root of problems that would bring
about problems of the Philippine economy in the late 1970s, the 1980s, and
beyond.”
"Much of that debt was incurred by the Marcos regime; by the
time Ferdinand Marcos and family fled Malacañang Palace in 1986, the country’s
foreign debt load had multiplied 25 times from when he first took office in
1965, to about $26 billion. At least a third of that amount disappeared into
the black hole that is the Marcos hidden wealth."
Imelda Romualdez Marcos
Governor of Metro
Manila and Minister of Human Settlements
Marcos Sr. appointed Imelda as Governor of Metro Manila In1975
and as Minister of Human Settlements in 1976, both positions she held until the Marcos family was deposed and fled
the country in 1986.
As Minister of Human Settlements, Imelda was given the
authority to construct the Cultural Center of the Philippines, the Philippine
Heart Center, Lung Center of the Philippines, Philippine International
Convention Center, Coconut Palace,
Manila Film Center, and the Calauit Safari Park, among many others.
These grand architectural projects used massive public funds and in “improbable short time" – a
propaganda practice, which eventually came to be known as her "edifice complex".
“In 1978, Imelda was also appointed as Ambassador
Plenipotentiary with authority to tour the United States, the Soviet Union,
Yugoslavia, Cuba, Libya, Iraq, among others.
In 1978, Imelda Marcos easily won a seat as a member of the
Interim Batasang Pambansa representing Metro Manila simply because most of the
opposition candidates were either in jail or had limited mobility as a result
of Martial Law.
“Marcos and her family gained notoriety for living a lavish
lifestyle during a period of economic crisis and civil unrest in the country.
She spent much of her time abroad on state visits, extravagant parties, and
shopping sprees, and spent much of the State's money on her personal art, jewelry
and shoe collections – amassing 3,000 pairs of shoes. The subject of dozens of
court cases around the world, she was eventually convicted of corruption
charges in 2018 for her activities during her term as governor of Metro Manila;
the case is under appeal. She and her husband hold the Guinness World Record
for the "Greatest Robbery of a Government"
Avariciousness For Material Wealth
“When they landed in Hawaii in 1986, the Marcoses were found
by US authorities to have brought with them extraordinary
wealth, including 22 crates full
of cash amounting to $717 million,
over 300 crates of assorted jewelry,
deposit slips in foreign banks worth a total of $124 million—and some
$200,000 in gold bullion."
When the Marcos family fled in 1986, Imelda left behind a
personal safe filled with "freshwater
pearls, a grocery-size carton of beaded turquoise necklaces, miniature standing
trees carved out of semiprecious stones, hundreds of pieces of gold jewelry,
and a reported $50,000 worth of gold coins," as well as thousands of
designer shoes, hundreds of designer dresses and five shelves of designer
purses. The jewelry collection now in custody consists of 60 pieces, including
a 150-karat Burmese Ruby, and a 30-karat Bulgari diamond bracelet that was
valued at $1 million in 1986.
“It also reinforces the family’s narrative about Marcos himself discovering the fabled Yamashita treasure, thus offering a possible explanation for the wealth that Ferdinand could not hide or Imelda could not forebear to keep a secret. Yes, among the things the Marcoses brought with them to Hawaii was a 3-foot-tall statue of solid gold. But again, that was only a small part of the assets they managed to carry with them—all told, worth over a billion US dollars."
* Catherine A. Traywick
“The PCGG has seized $350 million worth of real estate in New
York, including a Wall Street skyscraper (which sold for almost nothing), the
Crown Building, a nine-story Manhattan shopping mall, a Fifth Avenue tower, and
a 13-acre estate on Long Island. “
“The Marcoses also had several properties in Beverly Hills
and two homes in Princeton Pike and Cherry Hill, New Jersey. Their Philippine
vacation home recently sold for $2 million, as well.”
In 2003, a Philippine court ordered the forfeiture of $683 million
held in Swiss bank accounts in Ferdinand Marcos’s name. Switzerland turned over
the money in 2004. In a vault held by Marcos, the Swiss central bank also found
a ruby and diamond tiara worth about $8 million.
According to a World Bank report, the Marcoses managed to
accumulate their wealth through a number of channels: by using their political
power to take over large private companies, creating state-owned monopolies,
skimming off international aid, and directly raiding the public treasury. They
then laundered their ill-gotten gains through shell corporations, eventually
investing it in real estate and depositing it into offshore accounts.
Conclusion
The Holy Bible highlighted 20 verses about money and greed.
In the book of 1 Timothy 6:10 “For the
love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from
the faith in their greediness and pierced themselves through with many
sorrows. This particular scripture has been misconstrued by many believers into
believing money is evil. Money in its nature is not evil, but the love of money
is the root of all evil. The love for money brings greed, when a man is greedy,
he can do almost anything to make money.”
In Mark 8:36 “For what
does it profit a man to gain the whole world and loss his own soul”
Greed, as explained by Wikipedia, “is the desire for the
pursuit of money, wealth, power and other possessions, especially when this
denies the same goods to others. It is generally considered a vice and is one
of the seven deadly sins in Catholicism”.
“Greed is a form of idolatry, according to the Bible
(Colossians 3:5). The most common explanation is that the greedy person values
money or possessions more than God.”
One of the famous quotes of Mahatma Gandhi “There are enough
resources to meet human needs, but never enough to meet human greed” is more
than right.
“I think each of us should realize that life is not about
money at all. It is true that it really does provide a good start but there's
got to be more to life than money. I certainly believe that the love of money is
the root of all evil. If love of money surpasses the love of God, that’s when
men act as if they are not children of God. We all have to be responsible sons
of the Creator by doing what the scriptures teach and say.” *Mahatma Ghandi
Now, tell that to the Marcoses!
Sources: Wikipedia - Economy of the Philippines
(1965–1986)
Inquirer.net
ABS CBN News
Primitivo Mijares “The Conjugal Dictatorship”.
Jawahir Mulraj “ The Greed of Political Leaders”
Catherine A. Traywick
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