Imelda Marcos Shoes

When a powerful storm inundated the Philippines last month, most people rushed to save their homes or their lives. Employees of one museum, however, grabbed the shoes. The museum houses more than 800 pairs donated by former first lady Imelda Marcos, and many were threatened on Sept. 26 by knee-deep water levels inside the Marikina Shoe Museum in Marikina city, capital of the Philippine shoe industry. But curator Dolly Borlongan said the staff quickly moved the collection to the top shelves of display cabinets, and only around 100 got wet. Those were cleaned and are drying. Marikina, east of Manila, was one of the ... Read Full Story

A museum guard's quick thinking saved part of former Philippine first lady Imelda Marcos's infamous shoe collection when huge floods devastated the nation's capital, a report said Thursday. The 200-pair display was moved upstairs just before flood waters swamped the ground floor of the Marikina Shoe Museum on the eastern outskirts of the capital, the Philippine Daily Inquirer reported, citing the city mayor. "A guard was able to take most of the pairs to the second floor. We will account for them in due time, but our priority right now is still the affected families," it quoted city mayor Marides Fernando as saying in ... Read Full Story

A museum guard's quick work saved part of former Philippine first lady Imelda Marcos's famous shoe collection when huge floods devastated the nation's capital, its elderly curator said Thursday. The security man moved some of the 200 pairs on display at the Marikina Shoe Museum on the eastern outskirts of Manila upstairs just before water swamped the ground floor, curator Sylvia de la Cruz told AFP. The Marikina museum showcases the Marcos collection and an assortment of other footwear worn by former Philippine presidents, senators and ambassadors. "We managed to haul about 750 pairs upstairs," said 73-year-old de la Cruz, adding they had yet ... Read Full Story

In an extraordinary world described by Imelda Marcos, the end of the Cold War began with an adoring Chinese leader's kiss of her hand. Her famous extravagance was actually a sacrifice to inspire the poor masses of the Philippines. And her husband, Ferdinand Marcos, was definitely no dictator. "I have been so misunderstood," Marcos declared during a wide-ranging interview inside her two-storey penthouse apartment overlooking one of Manila's wealthiest suburbs. Indeed, the former beauty queen's recounting of her life sounds more like a wonderful fairytale than the one tarnished by greed, corruption and power-lust that many outsiders associate with her. "My dreams were small ... Read Full Story

Twenty years after dictator Ferdinand Marcos died, some of his former allies remain the richest men in the Philippines while those who have sought to bring them to justice are angry and frustrated. Two of the most famous tycoons, Filipino-Chinese Lucio Tan and the politically powerful Eduardo Cojuangco are listed by Forbes magazine as the second and seventh richest people in the country respectively. Benjamin Romualdez, brother of Marcos's flamboyant wife, Imelda Marcos, is number 30 on the rich list, while a host of others who did deals with the late strongman remain very influential in Philippine business and political circles. Scene "It's a ... Read Full Story