Malacañang: Imelda's gowns, shoes have no historical significance

What's the big deal? Following reports that former First Lady Imelda Marcos’ infamous shoes and gowns have fallen into a sorry state after years of neglect, a Palace official confirmed Monday that while there will be efforts to restore them, Marcos’ personal effects have no historical significance. Presidential Communications Development and Strategic Planning Undersecretary Manuel Quezon III told reporters via a text message that the only significance of Imelda’s gowns and shoes is that some of them were designed by prominent Filipino designers. “The boxes hold no historical significance, except some of the clothes were made by Joe Salazar, Pitoy Moreno, and other designers,” he said. Mrs. Marcos’ personal effects were stored in the palace following the family’s exile to the United States after a popular revolution unseated Ferdinand Marcos’ nearly two-decade long regime. The shoes and gowns, along with some of Marcos’ barongs, were stored in boxes in the presidential residence until early 2010, when current President Benigno Aquino III took office. “The National Museum is tasked with safekeeping a large number of boxes containing clothing belonging to the late President Ferdinand E. Marcos and his family, which had been stored at Malacañang Palace between 1986 and early 2010, when they were transferred to the Museum’s central office at the Old Legislative Building on Padre Burgos Avenue in Manila,” the National Museum said in a statement Monday. It was under the care of the National Museum that the boxes became infested with termites and suffered water damage from leaks the museum suffered during heavy monsoon rains. "It was certainly unfortunate that the room in which the boxes were stored suffered serious leaks during the heavy rains of August 6 to 8, but this came to the attention of Museum staff in the middle of the night of August 6,” the National Museum explained. While they have taken pains to try and restore the items, they said, the boxes have fallen to neglect the past 24 years it spent in the palace. "It is well known that [the] articles of clothing had already suffered serious neglect during this 24-year period, during which no plan had been formulated regarding their final disposition,” the statement said. Quezon echoed that there are plans to restore the gowns and shoes. “The plans are to restore them. These items were transferred to the National Museum in June 2010 during the transition,” he said. However, Presidential Spokesperson Edwin Lacierda admitted that the Palace has no concrete plans regarding the Marcos gowns and shoes. “There was supposed to be a display, [but the issue] has not been on our radar for the longest time,” Lacierda said. — BM/HS, GMA News