PBBM: Marcoses owe ‘debt of gratitude’ to Filipino community in Honolulu

HONOLULU, Hawaii – President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Saturday (US Time) said that the Filipinos in Hawaii gave them everything they needed after they departed the Malacañan Palace empty-handed in February 1986.

In his meeting with the members of the Filipino community in Honolulu on Saturday (US Time), Marcos said that the Filipinos in Hawaii had touched his family's life.

"The people we owe a debt of gratitude that we will never be able to repay," Marcos Jr. said.

"These are the people that kept us alive for six years," he added.

Marcos said he and his family will always be thankful for the generosity of the Filipinos in Hawaii.

He added that the Marcoses might not be alive now were it not for the support they got from worried Kababayans.

"They kept everything to inspect everything. These are the people who kept body and soul together of the Marcos Family," Marcos said.

"They gave us clothes and even fed us. Even the appliances there in Makiki Heights, they were the ones who brought them (to our home there)," he added.

Marcos mentioned that his mother, former First Lady Imelda Marcos, instructed him to show appreciation to all Filipinos who supported and sustained them during their exile.

The President pledged to hold dear all the support and assistance extended to them by the Filipino people.

"When my mother found out I was coming to Honolulu, she said, 'You make sure you go back to all those people who went out of their way to keep us comfortable, to keep us alive, literally alive.' That is something that I will carry in my heart, that the Marcos family will carry in our hearts, we'll tell our children about this and how wonderful you all were to us in that time," Marcos said.

"We could not have survived that (difficult period) without you. That's why when I went to San Francisco, I insisted we must pass by Hawaii because even if I thank you every day for 1,000 years, it is not enough for all the things you did to us," he added.

With his public return to Hawaii, Marcos Jr. is marking nearly 40 years after his family was exiled there in the wake of a popular uprising that toppled his dictator father, former President Ferdinand Marcos Sr.

The 1986 EDSA People Power Revolution of 1986 resulted in the ouster of former president Ferdinand Marcos. The Marcoses were compelled to flee the nation and took refuge on a US military aircraft in Honolulu, Hawaii.

During an interview in San Francisco, President Marcos stated that he feels no need to forgive anyone for his family's hardships, acknowledging that individuals during that time were acting based on their convictions and beliefs.

"If this is what they believe they should do, then our way of thinking or belief not only differs but doesn't align," Marcos said.

Marcos mentioned that he didn't take the events that affected his family personally.

"I think by now – I hope you have realized that I don't take things personally. They don't need my forgiveness. If they want it, I will give it to them," Marcos said.