Imelda trips on House stairs, misses Sona

MANILA, Philippines—If you did not see her at her seat in the House of Representatives yesterday while President Aquino was delivering his State of the Nation Address (Sona) before a joint session of Congress, Imelda Marcos was not snubbing Aquino.

The 84-year-old Ilocos Norte representative—dubbed the “Steel Butterfly” when she was still ensconced in Malacañang as first lady—tripped on the stairs and hurt her foot while she was on her way to her office at the House of Representatives building.

This was a few hours before President Aquino, son of the Marcoses’ political nemesis, the late President Cory Aquino, was to give his fourth Sona.

Marcos’ office at the House said she only “tripped” and did not fall from the stairs, clarifying earlier media reports that she fell from the stairs at the building’s North Wing.

Marcos was on her way back to her office after attending the House’s opening session when she appeared to have missed a step.

“She slipped but her security escorts were able to catch her before she fell,” a Marcos staff member told the Inquirer. “She hurt her foot but it’s a minor injury. She is OK.”

She was immediately attended to by a doctor from the House medical service, who accompanied her to the Philippine Heart Center on East Avenue in Quezon City.

For good measure, Marcos was advised to have her foot X-rayed, Marcos’ staff said.—With a report from Julie M. Aurelio