During the Second World War, Marcos collaborated with the Japanese who occupied the Philippines – though he later claimed to have led the Filipino resistance, a fiction in which the United States colluded, awarding him medals. He emerged from the war a wealthy man and served in the Philippine House of Representatives and the senate, switching parties when it suited him.
Elected president in 1965, he won a second term in 1969. But in 1972, he declared martial law, imprisoned his political opponents, dissolved congress, suspended habeas corpus and used the army as his private police force. He then wrote a new constitution giving himself considerably more power. His wife, Imelda, and other family members were given lucrative government posts. While the Filipino people lived in abject poverty, the Marcos flaunted their extravagant lifestyle, Imelda becoming world-renowned for her huge collection of shoes. (While the acquisition of shoes may no doubt be a laudable enterprise, especially from a shoe manufacturer’s point of view, it is perhaps questionable whether it merits keeping an entire population in misery.)
In 1981, Marcos ended martial law, but continued to rule by decree. Opposition leader Benigno Aquino, who had gone into exile after being imprisoned for eight years by Marcos, returned in 1983, but was shot dead on the orders of Imelda if front of a plane full of journalists after he had landed at Manila. This sparked riots. An official enquiry blamed a high ranking general Fabian Ver. A family friend of Marcoses, Ver was acquitted when the case went to court.
To reassert his authority, Marcos held an election. Benigio Aquino’s widow Corazon ran against him. Marcos was declared the winner, but only after 30 election officials walked out in protest at voting fraud. Marcos quickly arrested his opponents, provoking more rioting as Aquino was widely thought to have won the election. On 25 February 1986 both Marcos and Aquino were inaugurated in competing ceremonies. The following evening Marcos accepted the United States’ offer to fly him and his wife to exile in Hawaii.
After they were gone, it was discovered that they had embezzled millions of dollars. But Marcos was deemed too ill to stand trial and died on 28 September 1989. Imelda was acquitted of racketeering by a US federal court in 1990, but 1993 was convicted of corruption by a Philippine court.