The Kingmaker

As I write Ferdinand Marcus junior or 'bong bong' has been elected president of the Philippines, so it's a good time to view this documentary about the Marcos dynasty, its rise, its fall in the peoples revolution of 1986, and the gradual and dramatic rise again of its fortunes; in particular this film focuses on the surprisingly influential, some might say malevolent role that Imelda Marcos played. It's a shocking tale of shameless corruption nepotism cronyism and greed, at the end of which one can only feel saddened for the Filipino people, who have been used abused lied to and robbed over decades by their elite, and still are. Half of todays Filipino voters were not alive for the first Marcos era, but I was there in late 1985 and saw the huge disparity between the rich and poor, and just how hated the Marcos regime was at the time. Sadly all of that now seems to have been forgotten. If you want to know something of the true story of the Marcos 'dynasty' see this fine doc.