Butterflies and Booby-Trapped Briefcases : Marcos’ Death Elicits Bizarre Doings, Rumors

In a nation that thrives on intrigue, Ferdinand E. Marcos’ death may outdo his life for inspiring the bizarre.

In the last week, a 90-foot-high stone bust of Marcos was reportedly seen weeping. A huge black butterfly fluttered about in his old palace haunts. A plot was uncovered that involved deadly “mercury-tipped bullets” and a booby-trapped briefcase. And Marcos’ body may be secretly shipped home disguised as cargo.

These are some of the lurid tales that have dominated front pages here in the eight days since the ousted Philippine president died in Hawaii.

Unique Drama

Behind it all, a uniquely Philippine drama is being played out as the nation struggles with the political and cultural legacy of a leader who became an international symbol of greed and corruption.

At issue is where--and when--Marcos’ remains will be buried. At stake, by her own account, is the still-struggling government of President Corazon Aquino.

The drama began when Aquino barred Marcos’ burial in the Philippines only hours after he died. Even his corpse, warned the woman who took office in 1986 after helping to topple Marcos, has a “malignant power” that opponents on the left or right could use to seize power.

Criticism of Aquino’s ban grew when it developed that Marcos loyalists, who had vowed to mobilize 5 million people, could turn out barely enough people for candle-light vigils. Even longtime Aquino supporters argued that it was wrong to deny a man burial in his homeland.

“Let Marcos come home!” cried an editorial in the Daily Globe, whose publisher is a former Aquino speech writer and adviser.

Murder Plot Alleged

Instead, Aquino tried to strengthen her warning about subversion. After she called a classified security briefing, a Cabinet secretary reportedly leaked details of a purported assassination plot masterminded by a former Marcos crony hiding in the United States.

The plot, according to the Manila Chronicle, included “mercury-tipped bullets which could kill a person with a mere graze on the skin” and an attache case with a gun hidden inside “so the assassin could walk away unnoticed” after aiming the gun and setting a timer.

Marcos followers have been linked to at least three attempted coups since 1986, so threats are taken seriously here. But this alleged plot, Aquino aides later admitted, dated at least to last February and was not related to Marcos’ death.

In any case, Marcos’ lawyers petitioned the Supreme Court to overturn the burial ban, saying the cadaver poses no risk to national security. The government prosecutor responded that a corpse has “no rights.” Either way, Aquino announced, she will abide by the court’s decision.”

“She knows (the burial battle) has polarized the country,” Dee Dee Siytangco, a spokesman at Malacanang Palace, said Friday. “That’s why she said leave it to the Supreme Court. She wants to get on with the business of running the nation.”

But the court may take weeks to decide. And after on-again-off-again burial announcements, the Marcos family apparently has decided not to bury the body even temporarily in Hawaii until after the court rules.

So, what the newspapers have dubbed the “battle of the widows” has commenced. In Honolulu, Marcos’ widow, Imelda, has fired round after bitter round at Aquino in daily interviews with Manila radio and TV stations.

“He is the real president,” Imelda Marcos said angrily in one interview, standing over her husband’s corpse. “She is illegal.”

Many Conditions

Even if the Supreme Court allows Marcos’ body to be returned, Imelda Marcos could not accompany it unless the U.S. Justice Department agrees. That is not likely; she faces trial in New York next March 14 on federal racketeering charges involving nearly $200 million in Manhattan real estate and art, and the two countries have no extradition treaty.

In any case, Ferdinand (Bong Bong) Marcos Jr. could come home from Honolulu. Long regarded as a political and intellectual lightweight, Marcos’ 31-year-old son now parts his hair like his father, and this week he announced he is anxious to “fill my father’s shoes.”

He has “emerged as the new standard-bearer and bright hope of the fallen Marcos empire,” a front-page newspaper story said.

Not everyone agrees. “My loyalty is not inheritable,” Rafael Recto, Marcos’ longtime lawyer in the Philippines, said in an interview.

Problems for Aquino

Although support for Marcos has fallen steadily since he fled the country, his death has not helped Aquino. She has faced mounting criticism in recent months for alleged corruption in government, stalled land reform, an increasingly active Communist insurgency, and a divisive debate over the future of U.S. military bases.

Whatever the outcome, Aquino acknowledged this week that she cannot forget her bitter feelings. After all, President Marcos jailed her husband, Benigno (Ninoy) Aquino Jr., under martial law in 1972 and later forced him into exile in the United States. Moreover, Marcos was widely blamed for Aquino’s assassination when he returned to Manila in 1983.

“I am the widow of a man who knocked on every door for the right to return to his country,” the president told a group of judges. “This is a case that I understand fully well from both sides.”