2 weeks Ago By Miriam Grace A. Go
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rapplerAds.displayAd( "mobile-middle-1" );Just before many of us Filipinos prepared to scale down our social media time for Holy Week, President Bongbong Marcos posted a day in advance his anniversary greetings to First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos. “I’m still mystified how my wife, Liza, has managed to put up with me for so long without going insane,” he said in an obvious attempt at self-deprecation.
“Still mystified.” That they have been married for 32 years is a detail I unabashedly know because I had the rare chance of interviewing them as newlyweds when I was lifestyle and culture editor of Filipino Magazin back in the day. That was 1993, when they — he, an Ilocos Norte congressman, and she, a practicing lawyer — practically eloped and got married in Italy on April 17.
By late May or early June, I was in their study room in a house in Wack-Wack, watching them tease each other as they answered typical “how are you as a couple” questions. The impression that stayed with me from that interview was: Mas in love yata si Bongbong, mas kinikilig siya, and he was obviously dazzled by her. Liza could hold herself together, but in little gestures here and there, you could sense she was caring towards Bongbong — you know, the “I’m happy looking after him” vibe.
More than three decades later — he, the Philippine president, and she, the first lady who is a power center on her own — that dynamic in their relationship still manifests in various ways. “The First Lady helps me in terms of the organization because she’s actually very, very good at that — organize which office, how the workflow goes, where the documents go through,” Marcos had said in an interview in January 2023. “Consider it done” is a phrase Liza reportedly uses a lot when something has yet to be figured out.
Some Malacañang reporters would share the observation: Bongbong admires her. And, of course, there’s that latest appreciation of her “love, patience and strength” via a Facebook post. So I went back to the June 21, 1993, issue of Filipino Magazin, and found these highlights from the interview for those who are simply curious.
(Warning: these are not for those who might cringe over mushy things, those who’d rather ask whether the venue of the interview was ever declared in their SALNs, nor those who’d cry that soft content tends to redeem the Marcoses.) ‘Gulat’ at first sight It’s common knowledge by now that the couple didn’t have a formal courtship, and that everything started with a friendship that developed while they were in New York. So, no, it wasn’t love at first sight in 1988.
“What happened was more of gulat (shock) at first sight,” Liza recalled. “When my friend called to say he would drop by my apartment, I thought he’d be coming alone. When I opened the door, I saw Bong’s face.
” They couldn’t point to a time when their hearts beat fast and heavy to signal they were in love. They were just together every day, dining out or watching plays — and always in the company of friends. “Sometimes, girls would even call my apartment to ask if Bong was there,” Liza said, amused.
They only realized one was special to the other when Bongbong had to be away for two weeks, and they confessed they were thinking of each other constantly. “He said he didn’t have anybody to talk to the way we did,” she said. window.
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displayAd( "mobile-middle-2" );Looking back, he said, he noticed she would always devote time to him, even if he was “just” a friend. How did Bongbong propose? “Lumuhod ako,” he said. (At this point, he was looking at her fondly.
) He proposed when they were in Hongkong. “Literal, lumuhod ka? (You literally knelt?)” I asked. He said, pleased with himself: “Di ba dapat lang? Kailangan eh.
Kung hindi, hindi ka raw seryoso. Kaya lumuhod ako.” What was Liza’s reaction? They answered as in a duet: “Umiyak!” The plan was not ItalyThe wedding was supposed to happen on July 11, 1993 — seventh month, seven being considered a lucky number by the Marcoses.
(Liza said their actual wedding date, April 17, was still lucky because April was the fourth month, and four plus 17 was 21 — a number divisible by seven.) The details were already in place: who would design the wedding gown, who would cater, who would make the invitation and souvenirs. They were choosing between Batac and Paoay in Ilocos Norte for the venue.
But in April, during congressional break, the lovers returned to Italy, where they had visited two years earlier. “We got carried away — the place was so beautiful, romantic, religious,” Bongbong said then. “So we said, ‘Let’s do it!’” They had one week to arrange for everything: marriage documents and permit, chapel, flowers, restaurants, message to very few relatives and friends.
There were only 21 guests who made it. The wedding was on a Saturday, and they got to tell former first lady Imelda Marcos on Wednesday, and Liza’s parents on Friday. Having to get court permission for Imelda to fly out of the country so suddenly was a challenge they expected.
In the end, siblings were the only immediate family members who could come: Liza’s brother Martin walked her down the aisle. (The ceremony was set for 9 am, and Liza came at 9:30.) Bongbong’s sisters Imee and Irene were there, the latter singing “Ama Namin” during the ceremony.
I spotted former Miss Universe Gloria Diaz in a photo shared by the couple — Gloria’s ex-husband, Bong Daza, was one of Bongbong’s closest friends. window.rapplerAds.
displayAd( "middle-3" );window.rapplerAds.displayAd( "mobile-middle-3" );In a “Couple’s Quiz,” I asked them what they had for their first breakfast as a couple.
They scored 1:1 — fruits. 70 kids — tomorrowThey said they were no different from other couples: would wake up at the same time in the morning — around 7 am — and go to work. He would call her during the day just to ask how she was doing.
Some nights she would come home talking about how bad a day was; sometimes happy about certain things turning out well. They made it a point to eat dinner together at 8 or 8:30 pm.She said then that being married to a politician shouldn’t take her away from the life she was used to, as a practicing lawyer, but she would definitely support her husband in all that he wanted to do and pursue.
Couples are like that, they said, regardless of their professions. Fast forward to them being Malacañang tenants, we’ve seen of course how Liza or LAM, comes to the President’s defense. Remember when she said Vice President Sara Duterte “crossed the line” with her “entitled politics”? (READ: It all started with ‘bangag’: How rift between Liza Marcos, Sara Duterte began)How many children did they want to have? “Seventy!” Bongbong exclaimed.
“He wants 70, starting tomorrow. I want four, starting next year,” Liza said. They wanted to experience raising both boys and girls.
(They have three sons.) Finally, I asked how Bongbong made amends whenever Liza was upset. He said: “First, I try my best not to hurt her feelings.
When she’s upset with me and I don’t know why, I ask her, ‘What’s the problem?’ And then I say sorry.” She said: “He says, ‘O, smile na. I forgive you.
’ Hindi naman nagso-sorry ’yan nang diretso.” “Still mystified.” I think we know why the President still feels that way.
– Rappler.com.
