AP Features, August 29th, 2007
Former Philippine First Lady Imelda Marcos has asked an anti-graft court to allow her to travel for two weeks in China and Hong Kong, where she will seek eye treatment and be a guest at a trade exhibition, her lawyer said Wednesday.
The 78-year-old widow of dictator Ferdinand Marcos is not detained, but faces a string of criminal and civil cases related to billions of dollars in alleged ill-gotten wealth amassed by her family during her husband's 20-year rule.
Lawyer Robert Sison said Marcos has been invited to be a guest of honor at a trade exhibition in the northeastern Chinese province of Jilin and wants to visit Hong Kong to consult an eye doctor for her glaucoma. She may also seek treatment from a Chinese traditional doctor for pain in her knee, he added.
Sison said he filed a request with the anti-graft court to allow Marcos to travel Sept. 1-14, after which she promises to return home. The former beauty queen, known for her extensive shoe and jewelry collection, has previously been allowed by the court to travel overseas.
In 2003, she left for the United States for medical treatment and to France, Portugal and Italy for a religious pilgrimage.
She was given permission to leave the Philippines for Hong Kong last year for medical treatment, but canceled her trip because of a massive landslide near her hometown.
A "people power" revolt ousted Ferdinand Marcos in February 1986, forcing him and his family to flee to Hawaii, where he died in exile in 1989.
The government said it has recovered at least $1.7 billion in cash and assets from the Marcos family and their associates over two decades, including Swiss bank deposits holding at least $680 million.
