Little-known Marcos Facts and Myths

He acquired a chain of islands in the Spratlys for one peso.

When Tomas Cloma, the owner of a fishing business, landed on the Spratlys’s largest island in 1956, he claimed sovereignty over the entire island chain, dubbing it “The Free Territory of Freedomland.” But he was imprisoned under Martial Law for misrepresenting himself as a navy admiral. He was subsequently released when he surrendered all claims to the islands and sold the chain to Marcos for the measly sum of one peso.

…And now, on to the metaphysical and downright bizarre…

Marcos was an Aglipayan, until he met Imelda.

Marcos was baptized as an Aglipayan. The church, also known as Iglesia Filipina Independiente (Phlippine Independent Church), was established in 1902 by labor leader Isabelo delos Reyes and Filipino Roman Catholic priest Gregorio Aglipay as an act of protest against the oppressive Spanish clergy.

But when the young Ferdinand met Imelda Romualdez in 1954—and after a brief courtship period of two weeks, the young Imelda convinced Marcos to convert to Catholicism in order for them to get married. While already married under civil rites, the two also had a Catholic wedding ceremony at the Pro Cathedral of San Miguel in Manila.