RenxKyoko Iglesias here, hello .
Check out my anime/manga site at http://2megaworthitwordpresscomblog.wordpress.com/
On my previous post here, I promised I’d give my reason for my weird post, “How To Boil An Egg“. I did make it like it was a mystery. Sorry , but there’s nothing earth-shaking there, no clap of thunder. It does have a rather long back story , a story that my parents had experienced, up close and personal.
I will try to keep it short, so here goes….
There was this person named Ferdinand Marcos, who was elected President of the Philippines in 1968. He was , well, I don’t know what he was, but he was an honor law student and topped the Bar exams before he became a Congressman , then the President. But he was brazenly corrupt ( together with his wife, Imelda Marcos of 10,ooo pairs of shoes ) and knew he would not be reelected . There were massive protests all over the country…….. so what he did was first, he suspended the writ of habeas corpus , and using his personal army ( The Armed Forces of the Philippines ) , was able to detain his political enemies, and in 1971 just 3 months after the suspension ( September ) , and before the presidential election in November, he proclaimed Martial Law. Philippine democracy was replaced with dictatorship and authoritarianism. He detained senators, congressmen , and known critics, one of whom was then Senator Benigno Aquino who was detained for more than 7 years , then exiled to the US, ( supposedly due to medical reasons …. and here in the US, he was given a teaching job at Harvard University ) . Marcos dictatorship lasted from 1971 to 1986 ( 15 years ! ! ) when he was toppled down thru the famous People Power Revolution in February 1986, the culmination of people’s protests that began when Senator Benigno Aquino went back to the Philippines on August 21, 1983, and assassinated right there at the airport tarmac.
The picture above was the funeral procession of Senator Benigno Aquino . The outrage was massive . But, here’s the most unbelievable part of the story. The day after the funeral march, there was NO NEWS that came out about that historical event. No photos. None. Zero. Zilch. Nada. Soon after, journalists, especially opinion writers , wrote nothing but HOW TO BOIL AN EGG .
That, my readers, is the back story.
Alright, this is all for now. Thanks for reading.
Addendum :
My parents were so outraged that they joined the early protest movement in 1983, right after the assassination. It was a very dangerous thing to do then because Marcos was still in power . Soldiers would come knocking on doors in the night . The victims became part of the Disappeared , the Desaparecidos . Filipinos called it getting ” SALVAGED “. There were thousands of these victims during Marcos’ dictatorship and kleptocracy. It came to a point when my siblings , who were then 4 and 5 years old, had to live with friends and were moved from one house to another over 3 years ( not with my parents’ families because , of course, the government knew who they were ). My parents were willing to die for the country. Great story !
Am a Molecular Microbiology student, love to read books, and I play the violin. 
dreamsending
renxkyoko
renxkyoko's space 
Posted by Sreejit Poole on November 18, 2016 at 8:20 am
Amazing story. Thanks for the history lesson, and honoring it with your egg post.
Posted by renxkyoko on November 18, 2016 at 8:43 am
Yes, it is an amazing story, isn’t it ? I wish I could tell my parents ‘ contribution to expel Marcos. It was a very colorful story.
Posted by Christopher Bland on November 18, 2016 at 8:21 am
This is all very intriguing to me…
Posted by renxkyoko on November 18, 2016 at 8:45 am
The news was all over the world when it happened. The rest of countries who were in similar situation followed what the Filipios did to expel a dictator… Korea, Rpmania, yes, even Russia.
Posted by Christopher Bland on November 18, 2016 at 9:07 am
Damn… I’m going to research this.
Posted by renxkyoko on November 18, 2016 at 10:09 am
Please do. It’s actually very interesting.
Posted by Christopher Bland on November 18, 2016 at 10:13 am
O I am… Plus I love history
Posted by Rebecca Dawn on November 18, 2016 at 8:28 am
Ooh that must have been pretty scary for your family, and yet heroic!
You have such great stories of your family
Posted by renxkyoko on November 18, 2016 at 8:47 am
Yes, it was pretty scary, and dangerous. But my parents said they had to do it.
Posted by Rebecca Dawn on November 18, 2016 at 1:32 pm
They stood up for their convictions and others that is so brave. I don’t know if I would be able to, I would like to think so.
Posted by renxkyoko on November 18, 2016 at 7:19 pm
Living under that cruel dictator had become untenable. The assassination of a brave person was the straw that broke the camel’s back. My parents said any fear that they had before this disappeared.
Posted by Rebecca Dawn on November 18, 2016 at 8:55 pm
Very brave of them. When did your parents come to the states? It must have been very sad for them to leave their family behind
Posted by renxkyoko on November 19, 2016 at 6:02 am
When he graduated from college I think in ’75, the first he did was go to the US Embassy to apply for an immigrant visa. he could not stand to live under an authoritarian regime. He found it gross. It took more than a decade for the US to approve our immigrant visa. There was a point when my parents had actually forgotten that they had applied and were most surprised when they received approval. We were already doing very well in the Philippines.
Posted by Steve on November 18, 2016 at 9:01 am
Great….it brings smile when you read something like this……
Posted by renxkyoko on November 18, 2016 at 9:23 am
Pity it went full circle. They elected a potential authoritarian,
Posted by Steve on November 18, 2016 at 10:33 am
What I meant was, when I read something old, about some brave moments, it brings smile….
Posted by renxkyoko on November 18, 2016 at 10:47 am
And inspiration, too.
Posted by Steve on November 18, 2016 at 11:08 am
For that you need to be single 😋
Posted by Steve on November 18, 2016 at 1:27 pm
Hey can I ask you something
Posted by renxkyoko on November 18, 2016 at 6:11 pm
Go ahead. Ask away. ^_^
Posted by Steve on November 18, 2016 at 6:12 pm
I just observed from this thread that you were just a month old in 1972…..is that true?
Posted by renxkyoko on November 18, 2016 at 6:33 pm
LOL ! !
When these events happened ,( 1983- 1986 I wasn’t even born yet , and my brother and sister were very young, about 4 and 5 years old. I am a millennial, born in the 90’s.
When Martial law was declared in 1971, my mother was a freshman in college.
Posted by Steve on November 18, 2016 at 6:42 pm
I’m not bothered about any events, actually You know why I asked you this question…. Coz you indeed look very young……offcou beautiful too, and I’m seriously in love with your beauty….. Not diverting for the topic….anyways I thought you were 44 and still looking young and gorgeous….. Just wanted to know the secret of your beauty and the way you maintain it at 44….. And Offcou wanted to express my love for you and your beauty……but then I was simply mistaken for the threads😜😜😜
Posted by renxkyoko on November 18, 2016 at 7:00 pm
* cough , cough * That was unexpected , ^___^
Anyways, thank you very much.
Posted by Steve on November 18, 2016 at 7:04 pm
Yeah I know 😢😢😢
Posted by Steve on November 18, 2016 at 7:09 pm
However I like you….. And I don’t know why….
Posted by arlene on November 18, 2016 at 11:00 am
Let me just correct you on this Ren, Martial Law was declared on Sept. 21, 1972. I do remember it, I was in third year high school then. The following day was a Saturday and there was a news blackout, no radio, no everything.
Posted by renxkyoko on November 18, 2016 at 11:33 am
I was off one month, then. I wrote this post from memory…. from my Mom’s stories. Thanks for the correction.
Posted by arlene on November 18, 2016 at 12:10 pm
You’re welcome Ren 🙂
Posted by Peng Garing on November 18, 2016 at 2:42 pm
Hi renx, yeah I suppose you got the details right. But it was such a dark period that a lot still could be told. Really sad day today…..You have admirable parents and at such a young age you experienced oppression in some way. I know martial law was already in effect a day or two before it was officially announced. sneaky really. God bless, I really hope we could sustain peace here.
Posted by renxkyoko on November 18, 2016 at 3:45 pm
Oh, wait …I wasn’t born yet during Marcos’ time. It was my siblings who experienced this, though they actually can’t remember this now.
My Mom said the suspension of the writ of habeas corpus was the beginning.
Posted by Peng Garing on November 20, 2016 at 11:40 pm
Hi! I am sorry I did not read your piece thoroughly. Things are not going well these days here. There is a rumor that the Marcoses might likely be back soon.
Posted by kelleysdiy on November 18, 2016 at 7:09 pm
Evil dictator! I am so sorry for your family and countries hardships…just terrible!
Posted by renxkyoko on November 18, 2016 at 7:22 pm
He not only used the army ( his generals were his relatives , or , they came from the same town ) He , his wife, his relatives and their cronies cleaned out the treasury.
Posted by kelleysdiy on November 18, 2016 at 7:31 pm
That is soo scary.
Posted by renxkyoko on November 18, 2016 at 7:37 pm
It’s a mystery to me why he managed to rule for 15 years. Well, only the governments newspapers were allowed to give out news, and there was open intimidation by the soldiers and government thugs.
Posted by kelleysdiy on November 18, 2016 at 10:27 pm
Your parents must have felt so helpless in the situation…terrible. I hope our new president isn’t like that!
Posted by inesephoto on November 18, 2016 at 7:43 pm
Thank you for sharing. What a story!
Posted by renxkyoko on November 20, 2016 at 3:48 am
I’ve been wanting to share that story. It has also my parents’ personal story… it’s become my own.
Posted by disperser on November 19, 2016 at 5:26 am
Interesting story. I knew the history (and about the shoes), but was not aware of the egg angle. Thanks.
Posted by renxkyoko on November 20, 2016 at 3:50 am
The egg story is not the stuff historians will write about. ,,,,,, even our cousin’s death while in detention …… he was just one of the thousands.
Posted by Jay on November 19, 2016 at 3:44 pm
wow, fantastic story. thanks for sharing it.
Posted by renxkyoko on November 19, 2016 at 8:17 pm
You’re welcome. It’s like a plotline of a good political novel. Do you know Ferdinand Marcos and his family were flown away from the ” Palace ” by a helicopter , provided by the US government ? There was a huge American base nearby. They were brought to Clark Air Base, and using another US plane, were brought to Hawaii.
Posted by The Deranged Writer on November 19, 2016 at 4:17 pm
I am amazed that your parents are two of the many people who protested and fought for the Philippines’ freedom during the Marcos era. That’s what my history teachers have been teaching for so many years, and there are a lot of anecdotes from the victims and witnesses themselves. But there are still a lot of pro-Marcos people on my Facebook and Twitter feeds, which is sad really because they really think the Marcos era is “the most peaceful era”.
I am glad that I know someone like you even it’s just through online means. And with what is happening in our country (the recent burial of Ferdinand Marcos at the Libingan ng mga Bayani/Heroes Cemetery), those Marcos fanatics should know a thing or more about what really happened during that time. We need more people like your parents right now.
And hello there! Remember me? I’m back, but on a different blog. 🙂
Posted by renxkyoko on November 20, 2016 at 4:05 am
Be careful of your social media interactions with this sort of people. They are there to intimidate those who oppose the government. You know what happened to the Jews in Germany.
Yes, it’s really sad that Marcos still have supporters. It’s incomprehensible. ” tell me who you voted for, and I’ll tell you who you are. ” Be careful of these people.
Posted by Minimal Belle on November 20, 2016 at 12:00 am
Incredible. Thank you for sharing!
Posted by renxkyoko on November 20, 2016 at 3:37 am
You’re welcome.
I hope I can write more about it. It really is incredible.
Posted by brianitus on November 20, 2016 at 3:58 am
Hey, Ren. I guess that by now you’ve heard about what’s happened here in RP. The unhealed wounds of Martial Law are wide open again.
Posted by renxkyoko on November 20, 2016 at 4:13 am
Hello, Brian ! !
Yes, I’ve heard of that one. Burial ground of heroes, and they buried him there ,, that thieving and murderous tyrant. A relative of ours, an honor law student from the University of the Philippines was taken by soldiers in the middle of the night , and died in detention. There was no justice. They were just informed and told to get his body at the detention camp. Just like that.
Posted by brianitus on November 20, 2016 at 4:22 am
I guess the people who voted for the current president here did not realize that he would really push for that burial.
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Posted by restlessjo on November 21, 2016 at 3:41 pm
They must have been terrifying times. How such evil can subdue a whole population is frightening.
Posted by renxkyoko on November 21, 2016 at 5:07 pm
From time immemorial, history tells us this was a way of life for all the people in the world. The army had to be on the side of the ” leader “. to keep the people shackled. The leader had to be feared. Keep quiet or you die. That’s their motto.
Posted by restlessjo on November 21, 2016 at 6:01 pm
And how lucky to live in the ‘free’ western world!
Posted by Peter Wells aka Countingducks on November 21, 2016 at 6:35 pm
Wow. Your parents were really brave and committed. It makes me even more grateful to be living in a country and place which is still pretty tranquil, although the world in which it is situated seems to be changing rather alarmingly. Always love reading your posts and wish I could stop by more often 🙂
Posted by renxkyoko on November 21, 2016 at 9:38 pm
Yes, it took 3 years to remove the Marcos family from power, literally. A US helicopter flew them out of the official residence, brought to Clark Air base ( a n American air base about 100 kilometers from manila ) then flown to Hawaii. It’s almost worthy of a Tom Clancy novel.
Posted by Amy on November 21, 2016 at 7:07 pm
What a story of your parents and family had to go through for the country, heroic!!15 years under his dictatorship, horrible!
Posted by renxkyoko on November 21, 2016 at 9:11 pm
My parents told us it was a life-changing experience.
Posted by amommasview on November 23, 2016 at 3:34 am
Ha! Who would have thought! And your parents are for sure super brave! I remember the story about the Marcos family. Imelda had many shoes, right?
Posted by renxkyoko on November 23, 2016 at 6:17 pm
My mother was one of those who were the first people tasked to enter the Marcos’ residences ( Malacanang Palace, the official residence of the Philippines ) to secure documents, etc. when the Marcoses were literally kicked out (…. well , they were taken out by US ‘copter. ) And yes, the thousands and thousands of shoes were in the basement of the Palace.
Posted by amommasview on November 23, 2016 at 11:49 pm
Wow…
Posted by Raj Krishna on November 23, 2016 at 3:51 pm
thanks for sharing this interesting political story, btw I must say that your parents are quite brave..respect!
Posted by renxkyoko on November 23, 2016 at 6:11 pm
Thank you. Actually, that’s just the tip of the iceberg.
Posted by Raj Krishna on November 23, 2016 at 6:23 pm
In that case I would like to hear the complete story.
Posted by renxkyoko on November 23, 2016 at 7:51 pm
I hope to tell the story, soon.
Posted by Raj Krishna on November 24, 2016 at 10:06 am
I will be waiting.
Posted by Initiator-Life with Tranquility :) on November 25, 2016 at 10:33 pm
I have nominated you for ” Real Neat Blog Award” My Dear Friend..!
Please follow below link and re post on your Blog. Just waiting you..!
https://lifewithtranquility.wordpress.com/2016/11/26/real-neat-blog-award/
Posted by renxkyoko on December 10, 2016 at 4:47 pm
Gosh, I didn’t see this ! ! ! Will check it out soon. I’ve been crazy busy the past few weeks. Thank you.
Posted by Initiator-Life with Tranquility :) on December 10, 2016 at 10:06 pm
I know my dearest Frnd. U have very busy schedule. But hopefully u will spare sometime for me.
Tahir
Posted by The Hook on November 26, 2016 at 5:06 pm
You make history come alive, young lady.
Thanks!
Posted by renxkyoko on November 27, 2016 at 10:24 pm
You’re most welcome, Mr. Hook !
Posted by A. Blake on November 29, 2016 at 6:50 pm
I love how you weave the tale into your title!
Posted by renxkyoko on November 29, 2016 at 7:36 pm
To be honest, it was accidental that I managed to fit the two narratives perfectly.
Posted by A. Blake on November 29, 2016 at 8:07 pm
Great mind!
Posted by equinoxio21 on November 29, 2016 at 7:22 pm
Congratulations to your parents. I will remember the egg-boiling story. There are many countries to which it applies. Salamat.
Posted by renxkyoko on November 29, 2016 at 7:33 pm
You’re welcome. ( I don’t know the Filipino words for this ^_^ )
Posted by equinoxio21 on November 30, 2016 at 12:47 am
Salamat banyak? (That would be Bahasa?)
Posted by renxkyoko on November 30, 2016 at 8:10 pm
Never heard of banyak….. but Filipinos, Malaysians, and Indonesians belong to the Indo-Malay- Polynesian race, ( and they even look alike ) and I know salamat is Thank you in Filipino ( I think selamat in Bahasa ) so I wouldn’t be surprised if this group of people share some words.
Posted by equinoxio21 on December 2, 2016 at 10:41 pm
Banyak means “a lot” or something like that. Selamat applies to good morning: selamat pagi or good night: selamat malam. Terima kasih is thank you. But you are right there must be some common words. Selamat malam (good night/evening) my friend. 😉
Posted by renxkyoko on December 3, 2016 at 3:57 am
In Filipino, Good morning is Magandang umaga , 12 noon is magandang tanghali, Good afternoon is magandang hapon, and Good evening is magandang gabi. Maganda is beautiful. Beautiful night is maganda ang gabi, or magandang gabi.
Do you know the Indonesian language ?
Posted by equinoxio21 on December 6, 2016 at 1:16 am
I was going to say that magandang sounded like good. But it comes from maganda. ng is probably a prefix. Beautiful in bahasa is Indah. Also a first name. 🙂 And, no, I don’t speak it. I have an E-friend in Penang, Tiffany Choong, who’s been teaching me words in Malay, which is very close to Indonesian. And a great fun to learn. So magandang gabi to you. Be happy, Renxkyoko-which-is-not-your-real-name. 😉
Posted by renxkyoko on December 6, 2016 at 10:33 am
maganda ang gabi to magandang gabi is more like a contraction ( ? ) …. something like ” do not ” to don’t.
You can also say it as ” Ang gabi ay maganda.” Which means , The night is beautiful.
The ( And ) night ( gabi ) is ( ay ) beautiful ( maganda ). It’;s easier, right. It’s direct translation.
Posted by equinoxio21 on December 6, 2016 at 11:17 pm
Ang gabi ay maganda… Hmmm. I like the feel and taste of it on the tongue. One can imagine the night insects chanting. The moon and stars above. A cool breeze to ease the day’s heat. the soft crash of distant waves on the sandy beach nearby. Peace. 😉
Ang gabi ay maganda indeed. 😉
Posted by renxkyoko on December 7, 2016 at 7:55 pm
Ang umaga ( morning ) ay maganda din. ” Din ” means ” also, or too.
Posted by equinoxio21 on December 8, 2016 at 7:38 pm
Salamat! (I love languages!) 🙂
Posted by renxkyoko on December 8, 2016 at 8:06 pm
Walang problema. Wala means none, nothing.
I guess you have enough of this . Ha ha
Posted by equinoxio21 on December 9, 2016 at 6:48 pm
No, I love it. Walang problema = hakuma matata! 😉
Have a lovely week-end my dear friend.
(Do something crazy) 😉
Posted by The Twentysomething Social Recluse on November 30, 2016 at 9:57 am
Very interesting! Thanks for sharing.
Posted by renxkyoko on November 30, 2016 at 8:11 pm
You’re welcome, Twentysomething Social Recluse .
Posted by D K Powell on December 28, 2016 at 10:35 am
I remember the toppling of the Marcos regime very well. I had no idea about the assassination though. The media was , and still is, very biased…
Posted by renxkyoko on December 28, 2016 at 4:57 pm
Not only biased….. that’s the least of media’s flaws….. at least , we know where they stand…… it’s when they espouse ” neutrality “…….. that is the biggest problem. Brazen lies are not challenged for the sake of neutrality.
Posted by D K Powell on January 5, 2017 at 12:22 pm
Indeed they are not…