FACT-CHECK: Marcos Jr. falsely claims family went on exile to Hawaii ‘empty-handed’

CLAIM: Marcoses came to Hawaii after the 1986 EDSA Revolution empty-handed

RATING: FALSE

In a speech, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. falsely claimed that his family came to Hawaii with nothing following the overthrow of his late father Ferdinand Sr.

Marcos Jr. said “They did not quite believe it but we landed here with nothing. Even our clothes, they were the ones who gave them.”

[“They did not quite believe it but we landed here with nothing. Ultimo yung damit namin sila ang nagbigay.”]

This is false. Official records from the Supreme Court of Hawaii state that “Marcos and his wife, Imelda, arrived in Honolulu with merchandise and other assets worth about $8.2 million, but these assets were seized by the United States Customs Service (U.S.Customs) upon the Marcoses’ entry into the United States and were held by the federal government for the entire period that Marcos resided in Hawai`i.”

Based on reports, the Marcoses brought along with them $7 million in cash and gems, 70 pairs of jewel-laden cufflinks, solid gold bars, and clothes that filled almost 67 racks.

During their stay in Hawaii, the Marcos family was reported to have lived a lavish lifestyle — staying in several luxury homes including an oceanfront mansion in Kahala.

“They provided us with food, even the appliances there in Makiki, they were the ones bringing them. And when we were sad, they were the ones who made us happy,” Marcos Jr. said.

[“Sila nagpapakain sa amin, pati yung mga appliances doon sa Makiki sila ang nagdadala. At kapag kami ay nalulungkot sila yung nagpapasaya sa amin.”]

However, their friends and associates said that the former first lady Imelda Marcos and her husband enjoyed the same high life they were accustomed to in the Philippines, hosting extravagant catered dinners in their multimillion-dollar estate in Makiki Heights.

On Marcos Sr.’s 71st birthday, the family even hosted a six-hour party at the Blaisdell Center in downtown Honolulu where Hawaii’s top entertainers appeared and expensive door prizes such as airfare to the Philippines and Las Vegas were given. Imelda Marcos was also seen shopping in some of the designer dress shops in Honolulu.

Marcos Jr.’s speech was delivered during his requested stop in Hawaii before heading back to the country from the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit. Roselyn Dapiton

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