Presidents Marcos, Estrada, Arroyo And Their ‘Edifice Complex’
What is it with our leaders?
It is a cultural or quite simply corrupted moral fiber that as they are oblivious to the hopelessness and homelessness of Filipinos they build and build, or acquire and acquire extra ‘abodes’ grossly disproportionate to their personal needs and offensive, if not oppressive in impact to the national psyche.
I am, of course referring to the Marcoses $1.8-M Lindermere Estate, Erap Estrada’s Wack Wack ‘Boracay’ Mansion (for his mistress) and Gloria Macapagal Arroyo’s newly-exposed, newly-built bungalow on Calle Cucu, Barangay San Nicolas, Primer 1 in Lubao.
What business do we have anyway, they say, given how:
the Lindenmere was supposedly bought by the Marcoses using their gold zillions;
Erap probably got his from either jueteng bribes or box office winnings;
while the Arroyo’s are at least claiming the not-opulent-looking Lubao digs (no one has seen it’s interiors) “is owned by Eva Development Corporation on a lot is the Diosdado Macapagal Foundation and was built as a part of a museum for former President Diosdado Macapagal, Mrs. Arroyo’s late father.”
http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/nation/11/05/09/lawyer-denies-arroyo-owns-new-lubao-house
http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/nation/regions/11/06/09/armed-man-arroyo-house-lubao-psg
Hey, President Arroyo’s lawyer even asserts it was ok for the gun-toting PSG man who tried to prevent an ABS-CBN news crew for filming the bungalow to lie:
Atty. Romulo Macalintal (Arroyo’s election lawyer):
Iyong tanong na bakit sinabi ng armed man na siya ang may-ari ng bahay. Well, I think siguro part ng training ‘yan ng security (Your question why the armed man claimed he owns the house. Well, I think it’s part of their security training),
Never mind even that the Arroyo bungalow is “where the President stays to rest whenever she goes on her quite frequent Pampanga sorties widely thought to be part of the scheme for her to run for Congress in 2010 en route to becoming House Speaker.
So those of us ordinary mortals should just mind our own business and discard the immense disgust that we feel.
As Estrada himself once told his detractors, “maging Presidente muna kayo!”
Of course history also teaches us what the revelations of the Lindenmere Estate and the Boracay Mansion likely helped trigger.
