Philippine Sen. Imee Marcos, daughter of the late, former dictator Ferdinand Marcos Sr., is visiting Oahu through Tuesday, with several events organized by various Filipino community organizations planned around her stay.
“Imee Marcos hasn’t been back to Hawaii since they were here during the Marcos exile,” said Raymond Sebastian, president of the Oahu Filipino Community Council. “Hawaii has a special place in Imee’s heart.”
Imee Marcos is one of three children of Imelda Marcos and Ferdinand Marcos, who was Philippine president from 1965 to 1986. During the last 14 years of his rule, he amassed billions of dollars, kept the country under martial law and committed scores of human rights crimes. He was ultimately exiled and fled to Hawaii.
Despite the history, many Filipinos in Hawaii remain loyal to the Marcos family, having immigrated from the family’s hometown of Ilocos. Many supported Ferdinand Marcos Jr. in the 2022 presidential election, which he won.
Imee Marcos’ visit was initiated for a handful of reasons, Sebastian said, one being that she wishes to thank the state’s Filipino community for its support of Marcos Jr. in the recent election.
Imee Marcos also wants to thank Hawaii for the support it showed for the 2022 film “Maid in Malacanang,” Sebastian said. The film tells the story of the Marcos family’s last few days leading up to their exile, but sparked controversy over its depiction of what happened.
Among the events being held to honor Imee Marcos’ visit, the Oahu Filipino Community Council is scheduled to host an event Sunday that is open to the public at Neal S. Blaisdell Park in Pearl City from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
But not everyone in Hawaii’s Filipino community plans to welcome her with open arms.
“We want to let her know that we haven’t forgiven the sins that her family has made, and justice has not been served,” said Victor Gregor Limon, a member of the community group called Hawaii Filipinos for Truth, Justice and Democracy. “We should make it clear that Hawaii is no place for murderers and plunderers like (the Marcos) family.”
The protest is being led by the Hawaii Committee for Human Rights in the Philippines and is scheduled to begin Sunday at 10 a.m. outside the Philippine Consulate.
Limon cited the Trajano v. Marcos court case in Hawaii which implicated Imee Marcos in the kidnapping and torture of Archimedes Trajano in 1977.
“Our own courts here in Hawaii see the Marcos (family) as murderers, and we as people who live here shouldn’t act like that’s not the truth,” Limon said. “If we don’t do it, then not only will Imee Marcos think that it’s OK, that everything is forgiven and forgotten, but those who actually have been hoodwinked to believe in their lies will continue to believe in those lies.”
While Sebastian expressed his respect for the opinions of those who refuse to support the Marcos family, he stressed the importance of Marcos’ visit and its goal to present Hawaii’s Filipino community as a united front.
“Even the protesters, we are welcoming into the folds of this,” Sebastian said. “They are coming with a different intent and purpose, but they’re still going to be there.”
Linsey Dower covers ethnic and cultural affairs and is a corps member of Report for America, a national service organization that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues and communities.
