MANILA WATCH : Not a Shoe-In

The people of the Philippines gave the boot to Imelda Marcos and her late husband, Ferdinand, in 1986. But the flamboyant former First Lady has been working overtime ever since to restore the glory of a 20-year reign of corruption and lavish excess. Remember her 1,200 pairs of shoes? Now Marcos wants to be president, and it’s no laughing matter.

Undaunted and unrepentant during six years in exile, Marcos declared her campaign for the presidency as she emerged from a Manila courtroom where she had pleaded not guilty to charges that she essentially looted her country’s treasury. With several candidates in the race for the presidency and with no requirement for a runoff, she cannot be easily dismissed. She hopes to succeed President Corazon Aquino, who is not seeking reelection.

In her selfish quest for personal redemption, Marcos should not make mockery of a democratic process long thwarted by her autocratic husband, who was ousted by the “People Power” revolution in 1986 and died in Hawaii three years later.

Marcos claims credentials to be president: She was named governor of Manila, but by her husband, who declared martial law in 1972. She was elected to the National Assembly, defeating Aquino’s husband, Benigno, who had to campaign from a jail cell and in 1983 was assassinated after he challenged Ferdinand Marcos.

Imelda Marcos goes on trial in March on the looting charges, before the May presidential elections. Is her campaign really one for her acquittal?