The
young congressman from Ilocos Norte learned that
Imelda Romualdez, the woman he wanted to be his
bride, would be spending the Holy Week of 1954 in
Baguio with her relatives. By Wednesday of that week,
Ferdinand Marcos managed to get Imelda to ride with
him all the way up to the summer capital with his
buddy Jose "Joe" Guevarra clowning and
chaperoning in the middle.
Once
in Baguio, they dropped Imelda off at the
government-owned mansion of the Speaker (then Daniel
Romualdez) where she rejoined her kin. The two men
then booked a room at the Pines Hotel but mornings,
noons and nights were spent commuting to see Imelda.
With
its pine trees and cool mountain air, Baguio was the
perfect setting for a summertime romance. One hundred
and sixty miles north of the capital, and 5000 feet
above the South China Sea, it remained the premier
vacation spot for elite Manilans. But its climate
wasn't all tha made Baguio chic. In a nation where
all things American were still very much in vogue, it
was the most American of all towns.
...
The
word baguio literally means
"typhoon" and, in 1954, typhoon was the
appropriate metaphor for Marcos' courtship of Imelda.
The Holy Week crowd of male politicians and Romualdez
cousins made sure they dropped a good word for the
suitor.
On
Black Saturday, Imelda Romualdez became the wife of
Ferdinand Marcos. Theyw ere married in La Trinidad
Valley, twelve miles away, where Marcos knew a judge
named Francisco Chanco. A friend and former
classmate, the judge nonetheless hesitated to marry
them. Marcos' reputation as a womanizer had long ago
reached that far north and, at the time, there was
also a scandal over a rash of fake marriages for
which some judges had already lost their jobs. Marcos
was insistent, however, and the judge finally agreed,
albeit nervously; by the time the three left his
chambers, he was so flustered he bade Guevarra, the
best man, good luck instead of Marcos.
As
soon as they got back, Imelda began to worry. While
Manilans later referred to the courtship as the
"eleven-day whirlwind," it was really even
shorter than that; the Marcoses married after just
three days spent getting to know each other, making
Imelda's acceptance probably the most impetuous act
she had ever done.
***