Marcos honors former Palace employees

MANILA, Philippines — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. met with former security officers who served under his father, the late despot Ferdinand Marcos, who was unceremoniously ousted from power more than 36 years ago.

Dubbed as the "walk of closure," the ceremony was held at the Malacañan Palace Grounds last Friday, Marcos' first day in office.

Some of the former security aides were emotional as they shook hands and walked with the only son of the former president they served, a video by Radio Television Malacañang showed.  

Present during the event to render their final salute were former captain Mervyn Espadero, who served as a security escort officer; former lieutenant colonel Delmar Magno, who used to work for the Office of the Senior Aide-de-Camp and a former nurse of former First Lady Imelda Marcos; former first lieutenant Menandro Espineli, who served as a security officer of Marcos' sister, Irene Marcos-Araneta; and former lieutenant colonel Fe Castro, who used to be a nurse of the former president.

Marcos and his family were forced to go on exile to Hawaii after the 1986 EDSA People Power Revolution, which abruptly ended the presidency of his father. Various sectors campaigned against Marcos during the 2022 elections by citing the human rights abuses and corruption issues tied to his father's presidency.

The criticisms against his family, however, did not derail Marcos' bid for the presidency as he bagged a landslide victory with 31 million votes, making him the first majority president since 1986.

The "walk of closure" was one of Marcos' activities during his first day in office. On the same day, he also met with key officials from foreign governments namely Vo Thi Anh Xuan, vice president of Vietnam; Dato Seri Setia Haji Erywan Bin Pehin Datu Pekerma Jaya Haji Mohd. Yusof, second minister of foreign affairs of Brunei; Say Samal, minister of environment of Cambodia; Dr. Raikumar Ranjan Singh, minister of state for external affairs and member of parliament of India; Kweon Seong-Dong, Floor Leader of the People Power Party of South Korea; Phoxay Khaykhamphithoune, deputy foreign minister of Laos; and Richard Graham, trade envoy of the United Kingdom.

Last Thursday, Marcos met with Chinese Vice President Wang Qishan; David Hurley, governor-general of Australia; Japanese Foreign Minister Hayashi Yoshimasa; Thailand Deputy Prime Minister Don Pramudwinai; and US Second Gentleman Douglas Craig Emhoff.