#ThrowbackThursday
So, where was BBM during Edsa?
FIRST off, here’s what we
will do: We shall disabuse ourselves of the most inaccurate thought that the late dictator’s only son was only a child during the Edsa Revolution. This is patently false.
In fact, Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. was already 28 years old in February 1986. What’s more is that he was already in government even — at the time, he was already the governor of Ilocos Norte.
Now that we have that out of the way, onto the next question: So, where was he? In Malacañang, of course.
‘Jungle fighter’
He was in Malacañang right from Day 1, arriving on Feb. 22 upon his father’s instructions, in ‘jungle fighter’ fatigues. In his book “Breakaway”, journalist and author Cecilio Arillo described Bongbong’s get-up as “reminiscent of the days when he trained as a jungle fighter.”
Bongbong x fatigues was an iconic sight, especially in those crucial days; it even seemed like he never changed out of them. By the third day of the revolution (Feb. 24th) he was still in them, even joining his father in a 9:30 a.m. televised press conference at Malacañang. Also with them were the First Lady Imelda, Irene and husband Greggy Araneta, Imee and husband Tommy Manotoc, and the Marcos’ grandchildren.
In this press conference, which was televised over Channel 4, the elder Marcos announced that he was declaring a state of emergency and ordered all radio stations to stop the broadcasts of troop movements and the statements of Enrile and Ramos, which he said were causing panic among the people. “I am taking my oath tomorrow, and I intend to stay as President,” Marcos said, as reported by Arillo.
The following day, Bongbong attended his father’s oath-taking — still in fatigues. Led by Chief Justice Ramon Aquino, the twenty-minute ceremony was over by noon. In his book, Arillo quoted reporter Alex Allan’s observation of Marcos’ only son:
“I looked at Bongbong’s face. His chin is quivering. His fists are clenching and unclenching. He looks for all the world like a young man in anguish who does not want to give up, who wants to strike at something or somebody for his father.”
As his father’s regime crumbled, the younger Marcos stood by his father. Marcos military aide Arturo Aruiza, in his book, “Malacanang to Makiki”, described Bongbong later that night:
“Still in his crumpled fatigues, he stuck to his father, his rifle ready at his hip. His eyes swept the scene. He was guarding his father the way the close-in security agents did. Only the night before, he had planned to gather a few select men to try and retake the government TV station, to put to test the training he had received with the Rangers and the Marines. I was set to join him but the President got wind of it and put his foot down.”
The Marcoses fled Malacañang that same night aboard US helicopters, around 9 p.m. Bongbong was among the last to leave. The late Max Soliven, then in Mr & Ms, wrote of the incident later:
“One pilot was already revving up for a takeoff when a man dressed in combat uniform furiously motioned for him to have the door opened. The flight engineer stuck his head out and explained that they already had the maximum number of passengers on board. He menacingly pointed the high-powered gun he was carrying at the pilot, pushing his way in, growling, ‘I’m his goddamn son!’”
Sources:
Chronology of a Revolution by Angela Stuart-Santiago
Breakaway by Cecilio Arillo
Ferdinand E. Marcos: From Malacañang to Makiki by Arturo Aruiza
