MANILA, Philippines — Take it from Senator Imee Marcos: No one stays in power forever.
“Walang forever sa pulitika,” Marcos said during the regular Kapihan sa Senado on Thursday.
Her father, late President Ferdinand Marcos Sr. ruled the country for 21 years until he was toppled by a power revolt led by the late President Corazon Aquino in 1986. This sent Marcos and his family to flee to Hawaii where he died in 1989.
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“Sabi ng nanay ko, ang buhay daw namin e parang tsubibo — asa taas, pinakatuktok o ‘di kaya sa ibaba. Kaya ngayon pa lang, matuto nang yumuko at hold on. ‘Yun ang nanay ko,” the senator continued.
(My mother said our life is like a carousel — sometimes we’re up, or at the peak, or down below. So this early on, we should learn to bend and hold on. That’s my mother.)
“Kaya dapat konting pakumbaba, konting hinay-hinay at maghawak-kamay sa mga kasamahan imbes na away-awayin,” she added.
(So we should learn to be a little humble, take things slowly, and hold hands with our companions instead of fighting).
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According to the senator, her message was not directed at anyone in particular.
In the past weeks, though, she traded barbs with some members of the House of Representatives over proposals to change the 1987 Constitution through a people’s initiative.