Imee Marcos

Early life and career

Imee Marcos is the eldest child of Ferdinand Marcos, who was President from 1965 to 1986, and his wife, former First Lady Imelda Marcos, both of whom exercised autocratic rule over the country from December 1965 to February 1986. She was born on November 12, 1955, in Mandaluyong, Metro Manila. She has a younger brother, Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos, Jr., a former Senator of the Philippines (2010–16), and two younger sisters, Irene Marcos-Araneta, a socialite, and Aimee Marcos, who was adopted and works as an entrepreneur and musician.

Marcos, who turned ten the day after her father was elected in 1965, grew up as a young child at Malacañan Palace, the official residence of the President. In an interview with Filipinas Magazine in 1999, she admitted that she was uncomfortable living in the Palace because it was too confining, very formal, and fixed. She also added that it is "not necessarily the most appropriate place to bring up a kid but it was quite nice".

While living at the Palace, Marcos attended regular schools in Manila, then was tutored at the Palace because they found it difficult to go out because of protest rallies outside Malacañang. This she found the most boring thing that happened, to learn without classmates.

During the dictatorial regime, Imee Marcos was the equivalent of Kris Aquino. Imee was a precocious daughter. Like Kris, she loved acting. I remember that Manila's wealthy 100 all turned out for her debut onstage in the play "Mother Courage"

Education

Marcos went to the Institucion Teresiana (Poveda Learning Center) from Kindergarten to Grade IV where she earned First Honors. She attended Assumption Convent at Herran St. in Manila for Grade V to First Year High School where she also earned First Honors. Then, she went to the American School in Makati.

Imee, her brother Ferdinand Jr. (Bongbong) and sister, Irene had been studying in England before Marcos signed Proclamation No. 1081 on September 21, 1972. They stayed there for a few years until they finished their studies. But they came home for Christmas and summer holidays.

She completed a B.A. degree in Religion and Politics at Princeton University.

After their return to the Philippines, Marcos was chairperson of the Kabataang Barangay (a youth organization). Then, she earned her M.A. in Management and Business Administration from the Asian Institute of Management in Makati. She did her graduate study in anthropology, sociology, literature, arts, history and theater at Princeton University in New Jersey and the University of the Philippines in Diliman. Marcos also studied French and Dialectical Arabic at the Royal University of Rabat in Morocco.

Imee was counsel at the Center for Legal Aid at the U.P. College of Law. She was also a consultant for corporate taxation of the Independent Realty Corp., Anchor Corp., Prime Holdings, MidPasig Realty Corp. She was columnist of The Manila Bulletin in Manila, publisher of the Filpino Film Review, publisher and editor of the Kabataang Barangay Foundation, Makati, Metro Manila, and special consultant to the chairman of the board of BBC-2, RPN 9 and IBC 13. From 1979 to 1986, she was consultant to the minister of the National Media Production Center in Quezon City. Then, from 1981 to 1986, she was director general of the Experimental Cinema of the Philippines.

From 1975 to 1986, Marcos produced the television shows Kulit Bulilit and Kaluskos Musmos. She was director-general of Experimental Cinema of the Philippines from 1981 to 1986, and was co-producer of the films The Boatman, Brutal, and Scorpio Nights. She also wrote and produced some animation films.

Imee also held the following positions:

In 2007, along with some industry luminaries, Imee Marcos established the Creative Media and Film Society of the Philippines (CREAM). A year after CREAM evolved into CREAM Content Distribution, Inc., a production company that specializes in animation, game and film production. She is currently the president of CREAM.

Political career

Imee entered the world of politics as an Assemblyman from Ilocos Norte from June 30, 1984, up to March 25, 1986, together with Antonio V. Raquiza.

Twelve years later, she returned to the world of politics. She ran as Congresswoman of the 2nd District of Ilocos Norte and won. She assumed office on June 30, 1998, and ended June 30, 2007.

In the 2010 elections, she ran as Governor of Ilocos Norte against her cousin, Michael Marcos Keon, who was the governor during that time. She defeated her cousin by a landslide victory. Imee had 196,160 votes while her cousin, Gov. Michael had only 86,005 votes. She assumed office on June 30, 2010.

She was re-elected as Governor in the 2013 polls, unopposed. On October 16, 2015, she filed as a candidate for her third and final term.

Torture and murder of Archimedes Trajano

The torture and killing of Archimedes Trajano was attributed to Imee Marcos, then the National Chairman of the Kabataang Barangay youth organization. "On August 31, 1977, Archimedes Trajano, a 21-year-old student of Mapua Institute of Technology, attended an open forum with Imee Marcos, 21-year-old daughter of the dictator. Her father had appointed her National Chairman of the Kabataang Barangay youth organization. When Trajano questioned her about her appointment, Imee apparently became irritated. Her guards seized Trajano and dragged him away. His body was found hours later: he had been severely tortured and beaten to death."

Nine years after the killing of Archimedes Trajano, his mother, Agapita Trajano, pressed charges against Imee Marcos and her accomplices for "false imprisonment, kidnapping, wrongful death, and a deprivation of rights" of her son. Marcos and her lawyers did not deny that Trajano was tortured -- instead, they argued that as agents of the state, the soldiers who killed Trajano were immune from suit in a foreign state. The Honolulu district court awarded $2.5 million in punitive damages, $1.25 million for mental anguish to Agapita Trajano and $246,966 in attorney's fees and costs against Imee Marcos for the murder of Archimedes Trajano, by Marcos's personal bodyguards.

Personal life

Marcos is married to, but separated from, businessman Tommy Manotoc, golfer and former professional basketball coach. They have three sons: Fernando Martín ("Borgy"), a commercial model and a DJ; Michael ("Mike"), a student at New York University; and Matthew Joseph ("MJ"), a student at Claremont McKenna College and the Senior Provincial Board Member of Ilocos Norte since June 30, 2016. Manotoc's son with Miss International 1970 Aurora Pijuan, Tomás "TJ" Manotoc, is a sportscaster and news anchor.

Imee Marcos was named in the Offshore Leaks – Panama Papers, along with her three sons, Fernando "Borgy", Matthew Joseph, Ferdinand Richard Michael, her sister Irene Marcos, her brother-in-law Gregorio Maria Araneta III, and her estranged husband Tommy Manotoc's relatives Ricardo Gabriel Kalaw Manotoc and Teodoro Kalaw Manotoc.