Imelda avoids hometown visit in Leyte to fight off sadness, says Imee

A campaign poster of former Sen. Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. is left on a coconut tree amid the ruins of the family’s Olot property in Tolosa, Leyte. —JUN BANDAYREL

TACLOBAN CITY—Former first lady and now Ilocos Norte Rep. Imelda Marcos rarely visits her hometown of Tolosa in Leyte province. The reason? She gets depressed seeing what remains of the family’s Olot mansion, a 42-hectare beachfront property.

Ilocos Norte Gov. Imee Marcos, in a news conference here on Tuesday, said her mother turned sad when she saw the devastation wrought by Supertyphoon “Yolanda” (international name: Haiyan) in 2013. Yolanda’s howling winds generated storm surges that wiped out structures in the Marcos property.

Imee said her mother, a member of Leyte’s Romualdez clan, went to Tacloban City to attend events marking Yolanda’s first anniversary on Nov. 8, 2014, but she did not visit Olot.
Washed out

Imee cited her mother’s health condition as another reason for not visiting Leyte. “She is not happy to travel these days because her left knee is really bothering her and she does not like to use a wheelchair,” she said.

The Olot property, built for Imelda by her husband, the late strongman Ferdinand Marcos, consisted of a seven-room residential mansion; 14-room guest mansion; a pavilion which could accommodate 1,000 people; and a nine-hole golf course designed by Jack Nicklaus.

Also washed out by Yolanda’s storm surges were several gowns and pairs of shoes of the former first lady, silverware and paintings.

The Olot mansion was among the government-sequestered properties of the Marcoses in Leyte. In 2008, however, the Supreme Court issued an order allowing the family to reclaim the property.

Imee said the family would have to “do something” about the Olot property so Imelda would overcome her sadness .

When asked about their plan for the property, Imee said: “We’ll talk about it but we’re not quite certain [on what to do].”