Paul Laxalt

Imelda Marcos pays tribute to late president

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• published: 21 Jul 2015
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SHOTLIST 1. Wide shot of Imelda Marcos walking towards US embassy 2. Cutaway to photographers 3. Pan shot from embassy seal to Marcos with wreath 4. Tilt up shot from ribbon to Marcos 5. Cutaway to American flag in half staff 6. SOUNDBITE (English) Imelda Marcos, former Philippine First Lady "Even during our exile in Hawaii he remained a friend. He and Nancy called several times sincerely concerned of what happened to us and even made it known that he was against what the bureacrats did to the Marcoses." 7. Shot of Ronald Reagan's name on the wreath STORYLINE Former Philippine first lady Imelda Marcos on Sunday laid a wreath in front of the American embassy in Manila in honour of former US president Ronald Reagan, who died on Saturday. The widow of the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos 's widow said Reagan had been a great US president who, she said, opposed her husband's 1986 overthrow. "Even during our exile in Hawaii he remained a friend. He and Nancy called several times sincerely concerned of what happened to us and even made it known that he was against what the bureacrats did to the Marcoses," Marcos said. She made the comment after placing a wreath of orchids and white anthuriums at the gates of the tightly guarded seaside embassy. Clad in black dress and dark glasses and driven to the embassy in a black limousine with a vanity plate, Marcos recalled before a throng of TV cameras the Marcoses' close friendship with Reagan at the height of their power up to the time he was toppled on February 25, 1986. When Reagan was still California governor, he visited Manila upon the Marcoses' invitation to attend the opening of a cultural centre, one of her ostentatious projects hit by critics for being built amid the Philippines' grinding poverty. Reagan waltzed with her during the centre's opening. After his overthrow, Marcos and his family fled to Hawaii, where he died three years later without admitting any of the accusations of plunder and widespread human rights abuses hurled by succeeding administrations. Philippine public resentment toward Washington grew during Marcos' 20-year rule because of its support for him until the very end. Before he fled the presidential palace, Marcos called former US Senator Paul Laxalt to appeal for last-minute help from Reagan. But there was none from the White House and Laxalt told him to "cut and cut clean". He was then flown on a US plane to Hawaii with his family. His successor, Corazon Aquino, accused him of stealing (B) billions of dollars and ordered many of his assets seized. You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/youtube/0bb28e3d09b793a180b8a276748e94c4 Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork