Loyalist leader saddened by Imelda's claims

MANILA, Philippines - The spokeswoman for Imelda Marcos is saddened by the former first lady’s claims of poverty and continuous persecution.

Cherry Cobarrubias, founding chairwoman of the True Marcos Loyalists, told The STAR that she feels the pain of Mrs. Marcos when she saw her on television declaring that she is now “poor, old and still allegedly being persecuted.”

“I can feel the deep pain that she feels. Our intuitions jibe despite the fact that we have not been meeting for the past years, even when I disengaged from her. The respect is still there,” Cobarrubias said.

Cobarrubias said she knows Mrs. Marcos well because their friendship started when the late former President Ferdinand Marcos and their children were forced to leave the country and fled to Hawaii after the EDSA People’s Power revolution in February 1986.

“I was also hurt when I saw her (Mrs. Marcos) crying on television. I bought a house in San Francisco (USA) in 1984. I was one of those who immediately visited President Marcos and his family at the first day of their exile in Hawaii in 1986. I religiously attended their hearings in New York. The persecution is true,” Cobarrubias said.

Cobarrubias said the four cases filed against Mrs. Marcos at a New York court were all dismissed.

“The same evidence, which were used in the dismissed charges in a court in New York that were dismissed, were the same pieces of evidence presented against the Marcoses before the Philippine Courts. The persecution of the Marcoses started when lawyer Frank Chavez started filing cases against them using the same pieces of evidence used in the cases in New York,” Cobarrubias said.

She said Mrs. Marcos’ claims of “hardship” could be referred as the emotional hardship that she and her family suffered.

“Her hardship is not literally financial. I know her (Mrs. Marcos) and the Marcoses well. We have common friends. Deep in my heart, I still have that affection and love for her. I was touched when I saw her crying on television. I was touched because I know their sufferings. The hardship is mostly emotional because of the continuous persecution that she is suffering. Imagine, she is turning 80 on July 1, but then she still has to post bond whenever she needs to leave the country. That is unbearable for her age and the fact that she is not a criminal,” she added.

Cobarrubias said she along with the wife of lawyer Sergio Apostol were the ones who organized the Leyte-Samar Movement for Marcos during the 1986 snap elections.

 “Sergio Apostol was our adviser. I was also the one who delivered the letter of Mr. Marcos to former defense minister Juan Ponce Enrile wherein Marcos asked for help for them to be able to return to the country. The hardship of Mrs. Marcos was not financial, but emotionally. The human factor. Even I disengaged from her; the love is still there. It’s instinct on her side, and instinct on my side,” Cobarrubias said.

Cobarrubias said the Marcoses were declared as thieves on Feb. 28, 1986, two days after the EDSA People Power revolution when Cory Aquino signed Executive Order No. 1 declaring that “whereas, President Ferdinand Marcos, Mrs. Imelda Marcos, their relatives, friends and cronies…amassed ill-gotten wealth.”