Manila, Philippines — Ilocos Norte Rep. Imelda Marcos is alive, an official from the office of the lawmaker said.
Reports that the former First Lady had passed away were not true, Bebot Diaz, Marcos’s chief of staff, said Monday, May 8.
The reports circulated after Bacoor Mayor Lani Mercado-Revilla on Monday morning posted a message on her Twitter account, @lanimrevilla, expressing her condolences over Marcos’s death. She has deleted her post and apologized for the faux pas.
Marcos, 87, is serving her third term as representative of Ilocos Norte’s second district.
Later in the day, Marcos, who was wearing an apple green terno, talked to reporters and said, “Buhay pa ko, matanda lang [I’m still alive but already old].”
Asked about her wish for herself, she said, “Lahat ng ikabubuti ng bayan, iyon ang aking panaginip na sana bigyan ako ng pagkakataon na makatulong na ang aking panaginip sa ating bayan na ibalik ang paraiso sa ating bayan…kasi nandidito ang kayamaman at kagandahan, kailangan magkaisa-isa tayo.”
[All that’s good for the country, that’s my dream that I may be given the chance to help bring back our country to being a paradise…because the wealth and beauty are here, we need to unite.]
Asked about the vice presidential bid of his son, former Senator Ferdinand “Bong bong” Marcos Jr., who has a pending electoral protest against Vice President Leni Robredo, Imelda said, “Let him talk.”
WATCH THE VIDEO OF FORMER FIRST LADY IMELDA MARCOS:
