Little-known Marcos Facts and Myths

Tweaking the Malakas and Maganda myth in his image.

To strengthen his authoritarian rule, Marcos tried to weave a mythological background around himself and his family. He commissioned paintings of himself and Imelda as Malakas and Maganda, the mythical ancestors of the Filipino people, who were born from the split halves of a giant bamboo pole.

There is a cult of Marcos.

In 1989, after the death of the president, his apparition is said to have visited a man named Rodolfo Cabusao. Cabusao was then a member of the Rizalian Brotherhood, a group which believes Jose Rizal was a reincarnation of Jesus Christ.

After his vision, Cabusao quickly established a cult devoted to worshiping the late strongman. Cabusao and the other members, who mostly come from Ilocos Norte and Abra, believe that Marcos did not steal from the nation, but rather only kept the wealth until such time “when all the money will be recovered and used for the development of our country.” (Quote from FilipiKnow.)