PHILIPPINES: FERDINAND MARCOS CULT WORSHIP

(28 Sep 1999) Eng/Taga/Nat
Tuesday is the tenth anniversary of the death of Philippines dictator, Ferdinand Marcos.
Marcos ruled the country with an iron fist for twenty years, until he was ousted by a popular revolt in 1986.
He and his family have been accused of plundering the nation's wealth while he was in power.
But not everyone remembers Marcos with loathing.
In the northern province of Abra, one cult worships him as a saint.
In a small chapel in the town of San Quintin in the northern province of Abra, worshippers are singing songs of praise for their god - Jose Rizal.
The Rizalian Brotherhood cult, which has about 300 members has been worshipping Rizal, the Philippine national hero executed by Spanish colonizers in 1896, for decades.
Its members believe he was the reincarnation of Jesus Christ, the most important figure in the Christian religion.
Most Filipinos admire Rizal for his heroic stand against the Spaniards.
But 7 years ago the cult added another, rather more unlikely, figure to its roster of saints.
They elevated ousted dictator Ferdinand Marcos to sainthood claiming he came to continue where Rizal had left-off.
SOUNDBITE: (English)
"He (Marcos) continued the mission that our god the father Doctor Jose Rizal was not able to finish, when he was still in his material being (when he was still alive). And for us, President Marcos is a saint because he was used as an instrument by god the father.
SUPER CAPTION: Rodolfo Cabusao, Head Preacher, Rizalian Brotherhood Cult
Marcos and his family were forced to flee the country by a popular revolt in 1986, ending his 20 year dictatorship.
Marcos died 10 years ago, while living in exile in Hawaii.
His body lies in a refrigerated crypt in the family mausoleum in his hometown of Batac, in the province of Ilocos Norte, which borders Abra.
Plans to bury him alongside other past presidents at the national heroes cemetery were met with widespread public opposition.
None-the-less members of the Rizalian Brotherhood believe Marcos fits the description of a government leader prophesied by the cult's founders as the one who would deliver God's promises of love and prosperity to (M) millions of Filipinos.
They say allegations Marcos and his family plundered the nation's wealth and amassed a huge fortune for themselves during his rule are untrue.
SOUNDBITE (Tagalog)
"He did not steal. He just kept the fortune that they accuse him of stealing. But time will come that this fortune will be brought out and will be used for the development of our country."
SUPER CAPTION: Saniata Guarin, Cult Member
The Image of the Sacred Heart hangs inside the cult's chapel, but it carries the face of Marcos and not Jesus Christ - something the Catholic church objects strongly to.
SOUNDBITE: (English)
"We object to this because the Sacred Heart of Jesus is the symbol of God's mercy. The symbol of Marcos pertains to another issue, so, it is a mockery, Jesus cannot be compared with Marcos."
SUPER CAPTION: Monsignor Hernando Coronel, Spokesman, Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines
The existence of the cult has been known about for years but it was only recently that Filipino anthropologist Landa Jocano discovered the bizarre twist to their beliefs.
He says the effect of Marcos' promise to make the country great again seems to be living on after his death.
SOUNDBITE: (English)
SUPER CAPTION: Professor Landa Jocano, Philippine Anthropologist
Members of the cult live in a self-sustaining mountain retreat where they grow rice and vegetables on a sprawling farm and raise money by selling orchids.

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