The president and the actress

Recently, Philippine President Ferdinand “Bongbong” R. Marcos, Jr. has found himself in more drug-related controversies when allegations about his past illegal drug sessions surfaced through a “leaked” Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) document. As it continued to gain traction both in mainstream and social media, even the Senate, dominated by Marcos allies, had no choice but to conduct an official hearing into the issue. The issue has also included actress Maricel Soriano, also accused of drug use and under the same investigation in the 2012 PDEA report, described as authentic by former PDEA agent Jonathan Morales, who testified that he personally signed a PDEA Authority to Operate and a Pre-Operation Report dated March 11, 2012. In 2012, according to Morales, he was showed photos allegedly showing then Senator Marcos and Soriano engaged in doing cocaine.

Both BBM and Soriano have already been accused of drug use before. Marcos, Jr. and his circle have always been said to be heavy cocaine users during the heyday of the Marcos dictatorship. Former senator Nikki Coseteng stated in interviews that BBM did drugs when he was younger, a habit which apparently continues, or so the rumors persist. Soriano, meanwhile, was accused by two former house helpers in 2011 of allegedly beating them up and threatening to kill them during their stay at her unit at the Rockwell Rizal Tower. They also claimed to be in constant fear due to Soriano’s constant cocaine use (Soriano is known as the “Diamond Star” in the Philippines. As we know, the diamond is a natural crystal, and the term crystal is also usually used to refer to methamphetamine, more popularly known as shabu in the country).

Presidents and actresses (and other personalities) have always made headlines in history. In the US, several presidents have been accused to have had affairs with various celebrities and staffers. Who could forget the Clinton-Lewinsky scandal, or the more recent alleged trysts of Donald Trump? Or presumed affair between John F. Kennedy and Marilyn Monroe? Many affairs of venerable former presidents, such as Franklin D. Roosevelt, only came out decades after the president’s death.

Our own presidents have not been spared from such scandalous affairs. Manuel A. Roxas, for instance, maintained a second family with Spanish-American beauty Juanita McIlvain; one of their grandchildren is 1972 Miss Universe Margie Moran-Floirendo. While such dalliances were (and still are) common, what made this affair juicy fodder for gossip was the fact that McIlvain was just 16 and Roxas was 36 when they first had a child! And while more presidential affairs followed, such as the alleged Fidel V. Ramos and Rosemarie Arenas affair or the multiple well-known affairs of Joseph Ejercito Estrada, nothing captured the attention of the entire Filipino nation more than the supposed “sex tapes” released by American actress Dovie Beams, who recorded her alleged lovemaking sessions with Ferdinand Marcos Sr.

At one point, protesting students at the University of the Philippines played a looped copy of the Dovie Beams tape over the campus radio station. The entire nation heard the recordings and every Filipino heard President Marcos begging Beams to perform oral sex on him! Parts of the recording included sounds of the breathing and moaning sounds of Marcos, the act of physically moving while in the bed, Marcos verbally declaring “I will kiss you” to Beams, and Marcos singing the Ilocano folk song “Pamulinawen” to Beams. Marcos supporters dismissed the tapes as a fabrication, but many continue to believe that Beams was telling the truth and the recordings were real.

Some would say that the Dovie Beams affair was partly contributory to the eventual downfall of Ferdinand Marcos. Today, another round of “recordings” are being attributed to the namesake of the former dictator. Marcos Jr. best listen to the lessons of history so as not to be brought down by an alleged association with another actress.