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The former first lady of the Philippines, known for her sumptuous shoe collection, has been convicted of seven counts of corruption during her 20-year tenure.
Imelda Marcos, 89, faces a sentence of six to eleven years in prison for each chief of registry. The charges, resulting from a judicial process that has been going on for two decades, involve private foundations that she established in Switzerland while she held a public office from 1968 to 1986.
The arrest of Marcos, who was not present at the trial, was ordered immediately after reading the verdict at the address. However, she will be allowed to stay on bail while she is appealing the conviction.
The conviction has also always prevented her from performing public duties, which means she will have to leave her current position in the House of Representatives, where she fulfills a third term.
In his 21-year tenure with President Ferdinand Marcos, he and his wife have become infamous for raising billions of dollars, with funds flowing into Swiss bank accounts. Imelda Marcos in particular was known to have displayed his opulent lifestyle as the country languished in poverty and civil unrest.
As Prime Minister, she served as Minister of Human Settlements from 1976 to 1986 and Governor of Manila from 1978 to 1984.
The family fled to Hawaii in 1986 when the army and the Filipino people turned against the president in a bloodless popular revolt. After their departure, Marcos' collection of 1,100 shoes was displayed at the presidential palace to show people how much wealth she had accumulated during her tenure.
This is not the first time that the former first lady is facing bribery charges. She returned to Manila in 1991 after the death of her husband in Honolulu, but in 1993, she was convicted of two corruption charges and sentenced to nine to twelve years' imprisonment for each head of state. 39; accusation. After an appeal, the convictions were finally overturned by the Supreme Court in 1998.
Her arrest was again ordered in 2009 for two counts of corruption, but she filed a bond and stayed out of jail.
The Marcos Dynasty still has considerable political power and influence in the Philippines. Imelda's son, Ferdinand "Bongbong," Marcos Jrr, was narrowly defeated by the 2016 presidential election, which challenges him, and many see him as the natural successor of President Duterte.
