Imelda Marcos hospitalized

MANILA, Philippines – The jet-setting former first lady of the Philippines, Imelda Marcos, has been hospitalized after suffering “fatigue,” an aide said Sunday, November 3.

The widow of late dictator Ferdinand Marcos had just returned to the capital after a lengthy road trip from the province of Ilocos Norte, over 300 kilometers (186 miles) north of Manila, when she decided to check in to a hospital, said her media consultant Lito Gorospe.

“She was suffering from severe fatigue so she decided to be confined,” he told AFP.

He declined to comment on the condition of the 84-year-old Marcos, who is a legislator representing the province of Ilocos Norte, home to her husband’s family.

The country’s top broadcaster, ABS-CBN, citing hospital officials, said that Marcos “came in for control of her blood sugar,” and that she had checked in to the hospital on Saturday night.

The beautiful and glamorous Marcos rose to fame as the wife of Ferdinand Marcos, who was elected president in 1965.

She became widely criticized for her extravagant lifestyle, spending heavily on clothes and jewelry and amassing a massive collection of shoes, even as most Filipinos remained trapped in poverty.

Her husband declared martial law in 1972 and appointed her as a special envoy, as well as handing her several top government positions. Her widespread power further fueled resentment over corruption and abuse under the Marcos regime.

A popular revolt toppled the president in 1986 and sent the family fleeing into exile.

After her husband died in Hawaii in 1989, Imelda Marcos was allowed to return to the Philippines where she made a political comeback, elected to the legislature repeatedly. – Rappler.com