In the 70s, Filipinos from all walks of life devised their own ways of speaking up against the Marcos dictatorship.
Take the writer George Sison, for example. Sison served as a writer for the Philippine Graphic during the pre-Martial Law years. His column was named "Social Climbing with the Conde de Makati".
Sison is from a respected family. His mother was once considered one of "the most elegant and best dressed" women in Manila. His father knew the First Lady, Imelda Marcos, well.
It is said that Imelda would repeatedly ask Geroge's father to stop him from writing things against her and her husband. But his father would always say, “I cannot tell my son what to write, he is an adult. I am sorry, Imelda.”
But one day, during the height of the scandal that linked Ferdinand Marcos to the Hollywood starlet, Dovie Beams, Imelda got the chance to spend time with George Sison.
Some time before 1972, the starlet, Dovie Beams decided to do a press conference regarding her affair with Ferdinand Marcos. George Sison was one of the writers who covered the event. According to reports, Dovie Beams made the reporters listen to recordings of her conversations with Marcos. Some of them were recorded while they were in bed.
“We also enjoy listening to ourselves making love," said the starlet.
The affair naturally shocked the nation and angered the first lady. According to sources, the president did everything he could to keep Imelda unaware of the whole affair.
But the secret was out and Imelda was determined to get her hands on one of the tapes. So she used her connections to get to George Sison. She convinced him to spend time with her to talk about the affair, among other things. Halfway through the conversation, Sison gave her the transcript of Dovie's press con, which pleased Imelda so much that she invited her to dinner at the palace. Upon getting home, they were greeted by Ferdinand Marcos himself.
Imelda then said the following according to George Sison:
“Darling, look what George just gave me.” (while waving the tape)
This, it turns out, was how Imelda Marcos got her hands on proof of her husband's affair with the Hollywood starlet.
The incident was recounted by George Sison in an article for the Philippine Daily Inquirer that was published online on March 5, 2017.
See the links below for more details:
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